The Halfling
by xTwistedChaosx
Summary: Aerith saw it. The prince's intent written on his face as he pulled the dagger hidden in his belt. She looked up at where Nuala still stood and knew what the Royal twin was prepared to do to stop her brother. Aerith could not let that happen. Nuada/OC
1. Aerith

It had taken them no time to get into the tomb of the Golden Army after coaxing the troll that wheeled himself about. Hellboy had been to see the angel of death and was feeling more spry then ever. The group moved quickly as they knew Prince Nuada had been threatening Princess Nuala.

When they arrived Nuada stand at the top of a platform that had shifting gears. Nuala was next to him. "Have you brought the piece Abraham?" He asked.

Liz gasped in shock as Abraham Sapien gave the final piece of the crown to Prince Nuada to awaken the Golden Army. "Abe how could you?"

"I had no choice. He was going to harm the Princess." He said rather ashamed of himself.

The piece was placed in the crown.

Aerith stepped forward to the middle of the intricate room.

"Short stack, what are you doing?" Hellboy asked.

"Prince Nuada I implore you to stop this." came a voice from the small covered frame.

Hellboy had always thought Aerith a male as 'he' had never uncovered 'his' face or spoke. Aerith always had baggy clothes on concealing 'his' frame. Also always had a black cloth covering the lower half of 'his' face and hair. He always associated 'him' with a ninja. The only thing any of the group ever saw was Aerith's eyes. The left a deep and piercing gold while the other had been scarred and blinded, though if it was uninjured Hellboy was sure it would be the same piercing gold color of the left.

Now that 'he' spoke, Hellboy wasn't so sure that Aerith was a man. "Finally found your voice, Short Stack?"

His words fell on deaf ears. "Please do not wake the Golden Army dear Prince of the Unseen World." Aerith placed a gloved hand over 'his' heart and bowed slightly.

"And who is this who speaks to me in such a matter? You are no human. I demand you show yourself to me." The prince said still holding the golden crown in his hands. He remembered at the bureau how difficult it was to fight this hidden creature but he knew right away that it was no human. The staff it wielded hurt considerably but there was no sharp points to it. Nothing to kill anything with.

"If that is what you wish." Aerith pulled off the cloth that housed it's head. Bright white hair cascaded down ending in a beautiful raven color. Her face was unearthly pale but no where near the bright white of the two royal elves. Her scarred right side of her face showed much more prominent now, running from the top of her forehead and down to the end of her chin. Her lips were a pale pink and there were intricate lines and swirls on her marking her as Elven.

Nuada had never seen an Elf such as this. She was different. He was awestruck. His sister beside him bore a gentle smile even given the circumstances.

The group Aerith came with let out a gasp. They had never seen her before. If they were all quite honest they had never thought she was a 'she'. She was always so well hidden and never spoke resorting to short nods and bows.

"I am Aerith. Daughter of Cyran of the Elfin army. Mother to Isabella of the Human world." She said giving a low bow.

Nuada snapped out of his trance. He scoffed "Human and Elf? Cyran was a great warrior of my father's army when the great war began. He would choose a human as a life mate?" He asked skeptical. Aerith nodded. "So you serve them? The humans? As some slave? Do they force you to hide yourself?" The prince asked. There was a dark fire in his eyes.

"No my Prince. I work with the humans to keep our kind safe." She said reaching behind her back to grab the red and gold staff that was attached to it. She brought the staff to the front of her "I do not kill nor have the humans demanded I do." She said. "Not all humans are hollow creatures dear Prince Nuada. I implore you to stop this destructive path."

He scoffed again. "Our world has been over run by those creatures like a disease. It has wrought havoc on our lands. I refuse to end this by the mere words of a halfling." The prince placed the crown on his head. He called upon the golden army. Gears began to spring to life. The BPRD group stood at the ready.

Krauss and Hellboy went to Aerith in the middle of the room. "Well Short Stack, you tried but it looks like his Royal assness is going to do this anyway."

Aerith nodded. She readied herself. Though she knew their efforts would be fruitless she knew she had to fight. Like a warrior. Like her father. If the Golden Army was let loose there would be no stopping them. She had to try.

Prince Nuada demanded that the Army kill the three in the middle. The machines began to attack. Aerith gracefully flipped between each machine attacking them with her staff. The hard metal of her staff connecting with the hard metal of the Golden Soldiers. It dented one in the head as she brought the staff down to damage it.

"Damn Short Stack! What is that staff made of?" Hellboy asked as he parried hit after hit of the armies blows. Aerith simply smiled. She jumped and ran up the army of one of the soldiers making the one next to it stab through the one she was running on to try and get her.

Krauss had taken over one of the machines and started battling it out as well.

After a good while of battling the army the machines lie broken on the ground. Aerith had a bit of perspiration on her forehead. She had not had to fight like that for awhile. It was exhilarating though she knew this was far from over. Hellboy seemed pretty pleased but his face fell when he saw the machines begin to reattach themselves. When they were done the army stood before them as if they were not just lying on the ground broken into pieces.

Aerith readied herself again. She was unsure if she would last much longer. She would try but she knew deep down that they were no match for this Army.

It was then that Hellboy challenged Nuada. Nuada was skeptical at first but Nuala confirmed that the big red demon was in fact a prince in his own right.

Aerith and Krauss stepped away from the coming battle. Nuada threw Hellboy a sword. The fight ensued.

Aerith watched carefully as the battle between the two raged. It was a spectacular battle that they fought. Nuada had all his Elfin grace and Hellboy had the grace of a Neanderthal but in the end Hellboy triumphed.

"Kill me. For I will not stop." The prince pleaded.

Aerith closed her eyes. Hearing that from the Prince of her people was heart breaking.

"Sorry pal. I win, you live." Hellboy said taking the crown off the prince's head. He turned to come back to the group.

Aerith saw it. The prince's intent written on his face as he pulled the dagger hidden in his belt. She looked up at where Nuala still stood and knew what the Royal twin was prepared to do to stop her brother. Aerith could not let that happen. The Royal family was too precious to be destroyed as that would surely seal the fate of the destruction of the Unseen Kingdom.

She acted quick. She ran infront of Nuada as he raised the dagger high and plunged it down intent on damaging the demon again.

Nuada brought it down hard and into Aerith's chest. He gave a gasp seeing her eyes widen in shock. They softened just as quickly though.

"NO!" Liz shouted running to Aerith.

Nuada held onto the little halfling. She reached just up to his shoulder. "What have you done daughter of Cyran?" He asked in disbelief. He held her hand in his. Even though she was a halfling she was still an elf.

"My life does not matter dear Prince." She said softly. He slowly brought her down to the ground. She gave a deep rattled breath. "The Royal blood lines must be protected...I...I had to stop you from destroying yourself and that...of... Princess..." Aerith's breathing slowed even more. Her good eye becoming unfocused as she slipped into unconsciousness. Her words stung him and he was unsure why.

Liz knelt down beside the two while Hellboy watched in shock. Princess Nuala stayed where she was with sadness in her eyes. Abraham went to her.

"We have to get her out of here." She said frantically. "Red can you carry..."

Nuada interrupted her "I will carry her. The demon is not quick enough to get her help." He said picking up the halfling. "Quickly tell me where I need to bring her."

" There is a team waiting just outside the entrance to this place." Liz said standing up.

Nuada nodded and lifted the halfling off the ground and ran out as quick as he could without hurting Aerith.


	2. The Prince

AN: Here is the next chapter! I'm feeling kinda inspired right now so I thought I would get the next chapter rolling.

To clarify the first chapter was set the stage. I didn't go into too much detail as I felt it would be redundant because I'm sure we've all watched Hellboy 2. Also this is an AU which will have violence, rude language, and lots of fun time with the elf prince *winky face*.

You'll eventually find out about Aerith's past and so on.

Stayed tuned!

~Twisty

HBHBHBHBHBHB

Manning sat hesitantly in the interrogation room. The walls were a dull grey just like the rest of the building. He nervously watched the Elf Prince. Nuada had his head down eyes closed. He wasn't restrained.

"You know we should lock you up for everything you've done right?" Manning asked gauging the Prince reaction.

There wasn't one though. He continued "as it seems though Washington thinks you'd be quite useful to the bureau."

The alabaster skinned elf looked up at him "And work for the humans? As a slave?" his eyes trained on the human as if Manning were his prey.

Manning shifted in his seat uncomfortably " You would be working with us...There would be some restrictions as to you leaving this place giving your recent activities.." Manning straightened himself trying to look brave as he laid down the ground rules for Nuada. "You wouldn't be able to leave here unless there is a mission and when out there you would need to be as discreet as possible but...you'd be helping us try and save your realm's creatures from the human world. We don't want any casualties to happen to either side anymore than they already have."

Nuada had his eyes closed once again. He took in the words of the human in front of him. Risk being in exile again which he had done just fine in and be hunted down for his atrocities or work with the humans to keep his world safe and theirs, which went against his original plans to kill off the humans.

Manning waited patiently but nervously. He hoped that not restraining the prince and making an offer to let him live peacefully and help the bureau, though with restrictions, would apeal to him.

Nuada looked up at the human "I wish to speak with my sister."

Manning nodded and left. Nuala had been waiting just outside already "I really hope you can convince him."

Nuala gave a small nodded and entered the room. Nuada watched his sister enter and take a seat where Manning had just been.

" _You're conflicted_ " she said in Elvish watching him closely.

Nuada nodded " _What would you have me do dear sister?"_ he returned though he knew the answer; their bond saw to that.

" _These humans here are not evil creatures. Has them not restraining you and offering to have you work with them to keep our world safe not shown some depth of their kindness?"_

Nuada was skeptical. It was true they had not restrained him and they were making quite a good offer but he was unsure if he could set aside his prejudices and pride to work with the creatures.

Nuala gave her brother a gentle smile and stood walking to the door to leave " _Besides, dear brother, I believe there is someone here who intrigues you."_ with that she left.

He gave her a small smile. Yes there was that.

HBHBHBHBHBHB

 _She lay in a field of lavender. The sun shown brightly over her skin, warming it as she stared up at the sky._

 _She smiled to herself taking in the scents that surrounded her. She always loved the open fields of flowers. She sat up looking around. There were rolling hills of lavender ahead and. Trees lined the field behind her. It was beautiful. She wanted to stay like this forever._

 _However, the scenery began to change. Dark storm clouds began to form over head. Thunder crashed wickedly and ominously as the scene darkened, which made her look to the sky in both awe and terror. When she looked down the ground was covered in the dead flowers. The trees were barren of any leaves and the hills that were so green before were grey and dead._

 _A deep dread filled her heart as if this death would also consume her. She stood in the middle of the field breathing heavily, scared, when a hand grabbed her and spun her around._

Aerith shot up right in the hospital bed. The machine she was attached to beeped rapidly. A nurse came barging in. She had furry cat ears up top her head and piercing green cat eyes.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed rushing over to Aerith. Aerith's breathing began to slow. "It's OK. It looks like you just had a bad dream." the nurse said looking her over. "You really had me scared there for a minute."

Aerith was fully calm now. She watched the woman check the machines then go back to her bed side.

"Is it ok if I check your wound? You had quite the close call you know. A centimeter to the left and you would been done for!" the nurse said.

The halfling nodded and adjusted herself so the nurse could go about checking the bandage.

"Do you remember what happened?" the nurse asked.

Aerith nodded.

"Do you know where you are?"

Again another nod.

"Not much of a talker are you?"

This elicited a smile from Aerith as well as a shake of her head 'no'.

The nurse laughed out. "Well suit yourself. You should get some more rest though...what are you doing?!" the nurse exclaimed.

Aerith pulled out the needles in her arms and disconnected herself from the wires. The nurse tried to get her back down but Aerith got off the bed and walked over to a pile of her clothes that were left there. She assumed they were for when she woke up. They were like her usual garb only black instead of her usual browns. Liz must have brought them. She would have to thank the human fire starter.

She began to dress. "Please! You must get back into the bed!" the nurse was next to her pleading. "You aren't finished healing!"

Aerith gave a small smile to the nurse. She finished dressing and pulled on the cloth covering for her head and mouth. She began walking towards the door.

The nurse blocked her path somewhat defeated "At least come back in a few hours to get it changed."

Aerith nodded. There was a smile in her eyes as she looked at the nurse.

As she passed by the nurse laid a hand on her shoulder stopping the elf human. There was sympathy there "I...I saw...on...on your body.."

Aerith laid a hand of her own on the nurses and turned. There was still a smile in her eyes but there was also something telling the nurse to stop and that she did.

Aerith nodded one last time before leaving down the hospital wing of the bureau. She needed to get to her room and wash the smell of the hospital and what she assumed was a few days worth of not properly being bathed off of her. It would be good to rest in her own bed as well.

HBHBHBHBHBHB

Nuala lead her brother to the room next to her own. She was rather happy at the moment and Nuada could feel it through their bond. He had agreed to stay and help the bureau after all.

When the door was opened it revealed a simple room with a large bed for the prince a bathroom was located off to the right side of the room. While it was large it was plain. There were no decorations in the room, there were empty bookshelves along the back wall, a simple dresser, and a rather dull looking rug on the otherwise bare floor.

"Your belongings are to arrive soon dear Nuada. The demon known as Red and Abraham will delivery it soon." Nuala said as he walked into the room casting a scrutinizing eye on every corner.

It certainly was better than when he had been in exile. During that time he resorted to sleeping on animal pelts and cots as he traveled. While it was simple it would do.

"Thank you Nuala." he said bowing his head to her.

Nuala smiled and turned to leave.

"Nuala...where?..." he said trying to think of what exactly to ask.

Nuala cast a knowing eye on him though. She knew what he was asking. "Take the elevator" she pointed down the hall "down. Go straight down the hall, second to last door is where you will find her."

Nuada nodded and waited for his sister to leave. The prince went to the bed and sat on it. He thought of going to see the little halfling. He felt...a sting in his chest for hurting her. He was unsure why.

His mind flashed to the moment he had watched his dagger plunge into her chest. She looked shocked at first then an unearthly calm came over her. As if she was ready to welcome death. He did not know why seeing that broke his heart but hearing her words effectively shattered it. _"My life does not matter dear Prince."_

Those words rang in the Prince's mind. He stood up and began his mission down the hall. He would see her.

When he reached the hospital wing of the bureau he discreetly made his way down to the second to last door. It was open. No one was in the bed. Had his sister lied? She had never really done so before.

He turned and found a nurse with furry cat ears and cat eyes. "Excuse me. I am looking for Aerith?" he inquired.

The nurse looked at him a little mesmerized. She snapped out of it when he asked about the woman that left an hour earlier. "Oh! She left a little while ago." she said shyly.

The prince nodded and went back to his own room. Perhaps another day.


	3. A Simple Request

A full days rest passed before Aerith walked about the bureau freely. The nurse was rather upset with her as she needed her bandage changed. The nurse chided her on the importance of keeping her wound clean.

Aerith knew. She's had many. She waited for the nurse to finish. She was in her usual brown clothing concealing her body and her face remained covered. She had opened her tunic top and waited patiently for the nurse to finish.

"There! All done! You really need to come back here often." the cat like creature said.

Aerith's eyes danced with amusement but she nodded none the less. She tied up her tunic once more and left.

She was rather famished now. A nice good helping of food would set her right.

She walked into the bureau cafeteria where there were hardly any people. A few agents here and there; all looked like they had just risen out of bed. They clung to their coffee cups and tried to drink away their sleep addled minds.

Aerith went to the selection of breakfast items. She got a cup of fruit, eggs, sausage, juice and some toast with a few packets of jam. She usually ate pretty light but since she had been in the hospital her stomach had been protesting the lack of food it was given.

She turned to leave through the exit but was stopped by the sudden opening of the doors and Liz walking in. She seemed angry about something. Aerith could guess it had something to do with Hellboy.

Liz's upset expression melted when she noticed Aerith "Oh hey! You're ok!" she said coming over to the hidden woman.

Aerith bow her head. "How are you feeling? You were out for a few days." Liz asked. A nod came from the halfling. Liz frowned "We all heard you talk when we went against the elf prince. You know you can speak to us right?"

A soft chuckle came from the hidden elf human "Yes Elizabeth. I know." with that Aerith left.

Liz shook her head and wondered over to the breakfast items.

Upon returning to her room, Aerith removed her head cloth. She sat upon a chair at her desk in the corner of her room and ate her meal.

She thought back to the day of the fight with the Golden Army. When the prince stabbed her, she was shocked to see his eyes cloud over with sadness. She did not know the royal twins beyond the stories her father told her as a child. She would always eagerly listen to him. His stories always fascinated her. The magic, the mystery, the pure fantasy. She never believed to be real even knowing her father as an elf. They sounded too otherworldly to her; yet here she was, faced with otherworldly situations every day.

How she wished her father could speak to her now.

HBHBHBHBHBHB

An hour had passed as she was lost in her thoughts. Her meal was done. The empty styrofoam plate and cups sitting on the desk still. She mulled over the dream she had before she first woke up.

There was always a tale in dreams; it could reveal anything about what one felt or events coming. Aerith ran her hand through her hair. This one baffled her, she had to admit. The fields she saw were of the fields from her childhood. Why did it turn so bleak? And that hand, that was no friendly hand. Could it be a dream from her past? She was unsure. She hadn't had one of those in such a long time.

She stood cleaning up the desk area and trashing her mess. Aerith put her cloth on her head and covered the bottom part of her face. She would venture to the library. There were usually books in there that helped her sort things out when her mind was troubled.

It took her no time to get there having ventured there often. She stepped inside the open doors and found no one in sight. Walking down the stairs she went over to the books and began her quest of finding just the one she needed.

"Short Stack!" came in Hellboy with a grin.

Aerith turned and nodded her heard courteously. She didn't enjoy the 'pet' name he had given her though she supposed she couldn't correct him now. The demon seemed to do what he wanted anyway.

"How ya feelin' short stack? You were out for a few days ya know? Had us all worried." He said stepping into the center. He already had a cigar in his mouth. Aerith gave another nod. He snorted at that.

She made to leave but was stopped by the big red guy. "You know you and I should fight some time. I'd never seen you fight like that before. Makes me think you were always holding back when you and I would go at it."

Aerith turned her head slightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Hellboy gripped her shoulder with a grin before releasing it. "Don't think you're getting out of this one short stack. Not gonna make it easy for ya."

Aerith nodded again and left. The thought of fighting the big red demon fascinated her. He was a very worthy opponent though sloppy in his technique. She didn't underestimate him in the least bit though. Not after watching him battle against Nuada. He had still bested the prince even though he had no real form.

She was lost in thought with the book she took from the library when a gentle voice called out to her. "Are you well Aerith daughter of Cyran?"

Aerith's head snapped up and she bowed deeply seeing the Princess stand before her. "Yes Princess Nuala." She said standing at attention.

Nuala smiled brightly "Aerith, why is it you cover yourself while you are here? I doubt anyone here would hurt you." She asked and said.

Aerith gave a hidden smile. "Truthfully Princess Nuala I have always done this. No matter if I am with ally or foe. It is better to be invisible than noticed." She said "But...if the Princess of Bethmoora wishes me to remove it while I am here I will."

Nuala nodded "I would like that very much so."

Aerith nodded and took off the head cloth. Her hair falling down just passed her shoulders. In the light of the bright hallway her scar and the milky white of her right eye were more prominent. A few agents passing by gawked at the elf human before whispering and moving along.

Nuala smiled gently but there was a sadness behind it. She didn't understand what manner of creature would hurt Aerith so but was glad that whatever atrocity Aerith had gone through she was still standing today. "I believe my brother was looking for you the other day. He wished to apologize for harming you."

Aerith was a little taken aback by the statement. The prince wanted to apologize to her? "That is hardly necessary dear princess Nuala. I understand why it happened and hold no ill will towards the prince." She said bowing graciously to the princess.

"Please dear Aerith. You need not bow to me."

Aerith nodded "I am surprised, Princess Nuala, that the Prince was allowed to stay here. I figured the bureau would have imprisoned him." Aerith admitted.

"It seems they wished him to help with the bureau's activities. They believe him to be a great asset."

"Aye, he will be. Though will he be able to work with the humans?" Aerith inquired.

"I believe that remains to be seen, though I have no doubt he will try." Nuala said with an air of mystery.

Aerith was curious as to what she meant but thought better of asking. If time needed to be had before she would find out the answer then time it was. She did have all the time in the world to wait.

Nuala gave a final nod to the short elf human. "I will take my leave now. Abraham is waiting for me in the library."

Aerith gave a last bow and watched as the princess left in the direction she just came. She walked back to her room and went back to her desk. She began reading the book she acquired.

 **AN: Don't worry everyone! I plan on having the two bump into each other in the next chapter! This chapter was a very important one. You'll see why soon enough.**

 **Thanks for viewing! Remember to leave a review and favorite! Or don't...you know...whatever.**

 **Twistyy**


	4. The Library

**AN: WOW! I can't believe all the Favorites, Follows and Reviews I have gotten. Thank you so much everyone!**

 **As a writer it really warms my heart to see people enjoying my story (even if I don't own all the characters though I wish I did).**

 **Thank you to Jazz'z Favorite Human Girl, Flint and Feather, and darkangelynn5 for your reviews. It is much appreciated!**

 **I'm having a hectic time at work right now so I apologize if the chapters don't come out as quick as everyone would like them. I have a pretty intense plot planned out so stay tuned!**

 **~Twisty**

After a while of reading the dream book and getting nowhere, Aerith sighed in frustration. She found nothing that made sense to her. Perhaps the meaning of her dream would come to her in due time.

She stood and stretched feeling stiff. She would return the book and perhaps do some light training with her staff. The wound on her chest would only leave room for her to do simple strikes and stances but it would be better than not to train.

Aerith picked up her staff strapping it onto her back and grabbed the book. She made to grab her head cloth but stopped, the Princess's words ringing in her ear. She gave a little smile. She would try to remain uncovered here at the bureau. She was so used to concealing herself throughout all the years she had been alive that it was second nature to her.

Now, she never worried herself over her looks even after obtaining her face scar. She was more interested in becoming a great warrior like her father. Her mother had tried to put her in dresses and teach her household things but Aerith always resisted. She would muddy herself in dresses and only feigned interest in household work. Her father would always laugh. He would tell her mother "The girl has the spirit of fire in her. Let her be." Her mother would always smile and hug Aerith close to her.

Shaking the memory from her mind, the little elf human made her way down the hall.

HBHBHBHBHBHBHB

Prince Nuada had been familiarizing himself with the Bureau. It didn't take him long to understand where most things were. The last time he was here he didn't care too much about the layout. His only goal was to get to his sister then.

This place was rather intriguing if he had to admit it. The humans took special care into building this place. There were many levels and sub levels to the bureau. There were plenty of rooms for human agents (though he doubted they stayed there apart from a few) and the more peculiar agents to be housed. There were training rooms, gun rooms, a hospital wing, a library and a cafeteria. Everything anyone could need was here in the thick grey walls, but they didn't have sunlight, or the outside smell of woods. This was a disappointment to the elf prince; he loved the woods.

For the past few days he had been spending his time walking about the bureau but would always seem to find his way back in the library. Nuada had read through a book about some human history. The humans certainly did enjoy embellishing the truth to fit their narrative, though, the prince supposed, they had always done that.

He placed the book back on the shelf that he had borrowed it from. Being in the place had him conflicted. He still despised the humans. Being here with them made his skin crawl. However, he did find this bureau intriguing and the elf human as well, though he would not admit that to anyone, least of all her.

Nuada turned hearing the library open. The small figure walked in clutching a book in her right hand. He was taken aback again. She did not have her head cloth on to conceal herself. That was rather interesting. In the light of the library her scarred face was much more prominent. Her markings as an elf were not much different to his and his sister's. Her skin, however, was much less pale, her hair ending in raven tips; also different from his sister and himself. If she were amongst the elves she would stick out like a sore thumb, however she also did not belong to the humans. She differed greatly from them as well.

As soon as Aerith's eye met the prince she bowed deeply to him. "I hope the day has treated you well Prince Nuada. I am glad you have decided to stay with the bureau" She said.

Nuada scoffed. "There was little choice in the matter, though my sister swayed me to stay."

Aerith stood up and nodded. The princess did have that air about her, as if she could make the ocean turn the other direction just by her smile. Aerith admired that about her.

She made her way over to the shelf she had taken her book from to return it.

The prince eyed her the entire time. The humans always nervously stayed out of Nuada's way or would rush passed him. The halfling did neither. She was steady in her steps and didn't flinch when she came close to him setting her book back with the many that were there.

"A book of dream deciphering? Your dreams trouble you?" He asked curiously.

"I had a troubling one when I awoke. This book did not seem to help me though." She said with a smile.

There was another scoff "No, human books do not usually help with much. Their history and reasoning are made to embellish the truth and only be vaguely helpful."

Aerith chuckled amused. "Not always Prince Nuada." She said turning away starting towards the exit.

"Aerith.."

She turned.

Nuada swallowed his pride. "Are you well?" He asked unable to actually say the words he wanted to. While she interested him, she was still a part of something that deeply disgusted him.

Aerith nodded understanding his meaning. "Yes. It is healing quite alright."

He nodded but quickly changed the subject. "Are you off to practice with your staff? Do you think it wise to do so given your wound?" He asked.

"I have never let a wound stop me before."

"I see." The Prince said bowing his head slightly to the girl.

Aerith bowed back and made her way out of the library to the room she usually trained it. It was a massive room which had great glass paned windows on the front of it so anyone from the hall could observe the person training inside it. Aerith stepped inside. She went to the middle of the room and took a deep breath clearing her mind of all distractions. She began.

HBHBHBHBHBHBHB

Sweat fell from her brow. Her training sessions were always intense, even with a wound. The dull pain the opening brought always pushed her harder. Any opponent would see a wound as a weakness and would exploit it. She trained her body to resist such weaknesses. Her original plan of taking her training easy went out the door the moment she began. Her dance with her staff came naturally to her. Each strike was with great precision and as much force as she could put into it.

By the end of her session, she was sore and tired but she felt much better; calmer and clear headed. She turned to leave and noticed the Prince watching from the glass windows. He gave her a slight bow before leaving down the hall, a small smile on his face.

Aerith was surprised by the prince. She wondered how long he had been standing there watching her train. She was no stranger to onlookers when she did but the prince was different. He was an elf, a prince of the unseen kingdom. He was a far better fighter than herself.

The thoughts were pushed aside for the time being as Aerith made her way to her room. A nice shower and rest were in order for the night.


	5. The First Mission

_She was in a dark room. It seemed she had been chained to the wall of it. Aerith brought her hands up to the collar on her neck that attached to the wall; the offending piece of metal bit into her neck. Every move she made, made it sting and dig further into her skin._

 _She looked down at herself. She was in a simple brown sack dress. She was covered in bruises and cuts. She didn't know how long she had been here for. She stood slowly. Her whole body ached. Had she been in a fight and taken prisoner? If so then who was holding her hostage?_

 _Her mind was racing. This had been a situation she had been in before. Aerith took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her mind cleared. She was not a scared little girl anymore. She viewed herself as a warrior now. She would get through this just as she had gotten through everything._

 _She tried her best to access the collar but it was not coming off. She tugged at the chain in the wall. It seemed deeply set in the stone._

 _Whoever had her in here took special care to keep her with just enough room to stand and that was all. The door at the front of the cell opened and there was a bright light filtering in; too bright for Aerith to stare at. She squinted and raised her arm above her eyes to try and see better._

 _"Hello, Aerith."_

Aerith awoke with a jolt. She sat up quickly looking around fervently. She was in her room, at the bureau. She removed the covers to her bed and looked down at her nakedness. She always slept naked.

There were no bruises on her body, just the wound that was covered in gauze on her chest. Her whole body was glistening in sweat, her breathing slowly steadying.

When she was finally calm, Aerith sat in bed contemplating her dream. She swore she knew that place. It seemed so familiar to her.

The voice is what gave her pause though. She knew that voice. She knew it like the wind knew the trees but she could not place it. It seemed so different now, so foreign to her but she knew it. She did not know who it was though.

Aerith lay back down but sleep would elude her for the rest of the night. No book in the library would help her decipher this dream. Perhaps her wound was becoming infected and this was the dream of fever. She would have to go back to the nurse to get checked.

HBHBHBHBHBHB

Aerith sat in the little hospital room awaiting the nurse to finish checking the wound for infection.

"Well, I don't see any immediate signs of infection. The wound is healing rather quickly which I suppose it would since you are part elf." The nurse said continuing to apply disinfectant. She did not bandage it this time as it had gotten quite smaller. "Would you like me to do a blood test to make sure there isn't an infection in your blood?" She asked.

Aerith shook her head. She knew having an infection was a long shot. The elf human tied up her tunic and nodded her thanks leaving.

Aerith became lost in thought. Her dream was troubling her. It had been so real, too real if she were honest. She was not sure who she could confide in about her dreams. This was the second troubling one she had in the course of a few days. She was no stranger to troubling dreams but they had not happened for years. What troubled her most was the question that had been nagging at her; why were they appearing now? She was under no great stress. The only stress she felt had passed when Hellboy defeated Prince Nuada and stopped the Golden Army from awakening.

Just as she made her way towards her room the alarms began to blare in the building. There was a mission to be had. Aerith was quick to run to her room and grab her staff and head cloth. She put it on and was off down the hall to the elevator.

She usually was the first to arrive for a mission out of the group and this time was no different. Her staff was strapped tightly to her back and she stood at the ready watching all the humans bustling about to get ready for the mission ahead.

Nuada was the next to appear. He noted her head cloth was back on and she was concealed from the world once more. He approached her. "Why have you concealed yourself again halfling?" he asked curiously.

Aerith's eyes danced with amusement. "Princess Nuala suggested while I am here I remain uncovered however, while I am out doing work I will conceal myself. It is best to stay hidden and among the shadows when you do not know what lie ahead." She said matter-of-factly but not rudely.

Nuada nodded. He lived by that code for years in exile but he never hid himself. He was far too proud of his heritage to remain under a cloth hidden from the world. This somewhat angered him about the girl. She rationalized it was to stay hidden and unnoticed but to the prince it was irrational. Was she so disgusted by her elf half to not show it? Or perhaps she was disgusted by her human side? Nuada did not have time to muse anymore as Hellboy walked into the room followed by Liz.

Liz was not showing any signs of pregnancy as of yet. The two could be heard bickering over her coming along with this mission given her state. Abe and Princess Nuala came in. Nuala was not dressed to leave the facility. Aerith assumed she would stay behind and so she did. Krauss was last to arrive.

Manning cleared his throat making the two lovers stop bickering. "There has been two human deaths in the Museum of Ancient Artifacts. A rather old book was stolen and a couple of old weapons too. We need to investigate to see if the intruder has remained behind or not."

Hellboy snorted "Ok but what does this have to do with us? Can't the FBI or someone do investigations?" He asked.

"The weapons that were stolen were of Troll make. The book I'm not sure about." Manning said going through the file he possessed.

The team began to file into the vans that were outside ready for them.

"Don't forget to be discreet! We don't want any more incidences!" Manning mainly chided Hellboy which was quickly dismissed by the big red demon.

HBHBHBHBHBHBHB

They arrived at the museum and got out of the cars they were all in. The humans carried their guns at the ready. The BPRD team made their way in the large building.

Inside the gothic style looking building, there were rows upon rows of ancient artifacts. Some from the great war, others were ancient statues, there were books and ancient tools.

If it were any other time Aerith would curiously look at all the place had to offer. Learning about the olden days always fascinated her, however now was not the time for such wonders. There was a job to do. She kept to the shadows as she had told the Prince. Years of practice had left her foot falls with no sound. She was very learned in the ways of stealth.

She came upon stairs that led to a second level. She noticed the others were canvassing down the other halls so she made her way quietly up the flight of steps.

Nuada had been keeping a close eye on the halfling. He watched as she made her way up the stairs. She made no sound in her movements which must have taken years of practice. He found himself admiring that about her. He shook her from his thoughts. Nuada mentally cursed himself. A halfling? He was admiring her? The prince made his way in the direction of the halfling.

Aerith had come to the second floor and found a shattered case off to the left. There were no items left inside the velvet interior though she took a guess that whatever had been in there was large. She read the text describing the item, or items, as she read, that were missing from the case.

' _Great Troll Stone Axes.'_

 _Said to have been used in the great battle_

 _Between man, elf and troll._

By the way the rack was, there seemed to have been two or three of the war instruments. Aerith moved on. She kept forward avoiding any lights that were shinning above displays. She made her way down an aisle that had many different ancient books on display.

She noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was on the ground a few rows down. She hid behind a display case looking at the object with her good eye. It seemed to be a foot sticking out from behind a case a few cases down.

She slowly grabbed her staff, taking care not to make a sound. Her steps were light. When she got closer she realized this was one of the bodies Manning had been talking about. By the look of it he had been the security guard here.

Aerith knelt beside the body taking special care not to touch the blood all around it. She examined the wounds. Whoever had killed this man tortured him before hand. There were cuts in just the right areas to make someone suffer. Looking at his face gave her pause.

It was then she felt it. A sixth sense she had developed through time and training. She swung her staff turning behind her to face her attacker. She was taken aback by seeing the prince. Her staff was just an inch from his neck. Her eyes widened and she stood quickly bowing her apology though she did not speak. They were still canvassing the area and it would not be wise to make noise.

Nuada was able to move his head back just in time before the strike connected. The girl was very perceptive to hear him behind her. When she nodded her apology he did the same. He looked down at the body as well. There was no sorrow or sympathy for the human in his eyes. He did not care, he only had a job to do.

A sound came from the back of the second floor. Nuada and Aerith looked at each other then made their way over to a hallway the noise came from. Both beings next to each other. Aerith stayed close to the left side of the hall while Nuada stayed close to the right. Nuada's spear was at the ready as was Aerith's staff. Their steps quiet but quick as they made sure to reach whatever was heard down this hall. They reached the end but only saw the door to the security room and a few windows. Aerith was the first to go into the security room.

There on the chair sat another security guard. Limp with death, he had the same torture done to him as the other had; the same thing done to his face. Aerith and Nuada looked about the room but saw nothing of more importance. The two left to convene with the rest of the team.

Nothing was found in the museum that would let the team know who had done this. All they knew was the great stone axes were missing and a book on dark magic called 'The Book of Blood', a very old, very powerful dark magic book that, in the wrong hands, would bring about many terrors to the Earth.

HBHBHBHBHBHB

They all filed back into the vans they came in. Aerith sat quietly, her eyes trained on the floor. If her face were uncovered the team would see her in deep concentration.

"Something bothers you Aerith?" Abe asked across from her.

Aerith lifted her eyes to him and nodded. She lowered the part covering her mouth. "The men that were killed. They were tortured."

The prince sat beside her listening intently. Hellboy and Liz watched as she spoke.

"While the nature of their wounds is not troubling as this was clearly someone who had a grudge towards these men, there is one wound both men had that has me on edge." She touched her scarred right side of her face, tracing it just under her blind eye. "They both had the exact wound on their right eyes as I have."

 **AN: Oh Ho! The plot begins! This is an extra long chapter for everyone. I felt pretty inspired for this one. Thank you all for viewing! Don't forget to leave a review and a favorite!**

 **~Twisty**


	6. Training

**AN: I'm still alive! I would like to apologize to everyone. My work schedule has been intense here lately. Seems like the only time I have had has been for work. Not to worry though! My story continues!**

 **Thank you to all those that have favorited and followed my story.**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **Now that that's out of the way. ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

The van ride back was ridden in silence, though many of her acquaintances had questions they wanted to ask they were sure now was not the time. The halfling was stuck deep in thought.

As soon as they arrived Aerith made her way quickly out of the van. She would answer her co-workers another time.

Aerith made it to her room and took off her staff and head cloth. She set them both down on a nearby dresser. Who could have done this? She was sure no one was left alive that knew about her past but the markings left on both men were uncanny. They were the exact markings on her face, she knew that for sure.

Her frustration grew into pacing. Her mind a jumbled mess of what ifs and whys.

She stopped and sighed out. Her anger was blinding her. Perhaps a cold shower and sleep would sort out her mind enough for her to reevaluate the situation. Perhaps there was something she missed?

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

The next day Aerith awoke. Her night fitful with unrest. She got dressed. She needed to take her mind off of the situation.

Grabbing her staff, she made her way to the training room. She would skip breakfast today, though if she were being truthful she did not think she could stomach any food at the moment.

Upon entering, she made her way to the middle of the room. Taking a deep breath, she began.

To the untrained eye she made powerful, fluid strikes with the staff. Her twirls and flips were spectacular. However, to the trained eye, and there was a trained eye on her, she was half-assing her training.

Nuada watched as the girl trained. He knew her mind was warring itself. He watched as her strikes were not nearly as powerful as they were the day before. She seemed to be lost in thought as she flipped, lazily landing and crouching to begin the next bought.

This angered him. Such a warrior should not be so unfocused, though she did make quite the revelation to the team. While Abe, Liz, Red, and Dr. Krauss were rather concerned, Nuada was not. He knew whoever was doing this would show themselves soon. The particular book this person had stolen would bring about quite a bit of dark magic that would not go unnoticed.

In fact, what infuriated him most was that this halfling girl was getting under his skin. First, he wanted to apologize for hurting her and now he watched as the turn of events clearly bothered her which bothered him. He had only known her a week at most! How dare she infect his mind so!

His thoughts were brought back to the girl currently training in the room before him. He had come down to train but caught himself watching the girl. His hand gripped his shortened spear.

He was unsure of what currently possessed him to go into the training room with the girl, but he found himself unable to stop his movements.

The prince made no noise as he entered the training room. She didn't seem to notice him as he slowly positioned himself to strike. She was far to engrossed in her own thoughts and current training that she hadn't seen or sensed him come in.

Nuada was quick when he swept her legs out from underneath herself. Aerith fell back and brought her staff up to block the downward strike the prince had done with his spear. She quickly pushed his spear out of the way and got up watching him intently.

"You are training sloppily." Nuada stated "Such a shame I was able to surprise you so. When last we fought I thought you more of an equal." He said eyeing her as he slowly tried circling her.

As Nuada moved to her left, she moved to the right. The two sized each other up. Aerith remained quiet though. Her mind now focused on the sparring match that she was unaware was going to be at hand.

Nuada made the first move. His spear being pushed forward and forward to hit her. Each move was blocked easily by Aerith. He was testing her. Aerith made to strike him with a downward blow of her own only to be blocked by his spear.

The two broke immediately and stood in front of one another watching and waiting.

Aerith struck first this time. Each hit just as strong and focused as the last. The two began to make it harder on one another to strike as they began a methodic dance of strikes, flips and blocks.

Nuada and Aerith went like this until Aerith swept her leg under him and hit him in the chest with her staff. This knocked the wind out of Nuada and afforded her enough time to point her staff at his neck while he landed on his back.

Both sparring partners were breathing heavy, sweat glistening on both bodies.

"Do you yield?" Aerith asked thinking her the victor.

Nuada smirked up at her and Aerith felt the tiniest of taps on her leg nearest her thigh. She looked down shocked. Aerith looked back at the prince before giving a small chuckle.

"A tie then." She said backing away from the prince. "It appears I have much to learn still." She said bowing to the prince.

Nuada rose from the floor. "You do quite well in combat dear Aerith. If I had been slightly slower you would have been the victor."

Aerith smiled at the compliment and bowed again. "Thank you, Prince Nuada."

He nodded to her. "I had been watching you before I came in. Your thoughts were clouding your training."

"Aye. They were." She said nodding to him. Aerith did not want to continue the conversation though and Nuada could sense that.

He would change the subject then. "The symbols on the staff you carry; they are from our people are they not?"

Aerith smiled and looked at her staff fondly. She held it out to Nuada and let him take it. "It was my father's. He gave it to me. My mother was not overly fond of me learning to fight and my father thought it best to teach me. He compromised with her by giving me this staff instead of a sword to train with, though he still trained me in the art of sword battle as well." She said smiling at the memory. Her father was rather crafty when need be. He did not enjoy hiding his training session from him life mate but thought it best to keep his daughter trained. He would tell Aerith of the horrors of the world. He trained her to keep her safe, strong.

Nuada eyed the staff. The metal of it was a deep red while the symbols were a bright gold. The symbols wrapped around the staff from one end to the other. "I see." He said turning it over in his hand. Nuada held his hand back out to give it back to Aerith. "Your father was a great warrior of the Elven army of old. What has come of him?"

Aerith stood quiet for a few moments. "He is dead. Along with my mother and little brother." She said taking her staff in her hands.

Nuada straightened. He had not thought anything could kill Cyran. The elf warrior was much larger than most elves he knew. In battle the man was a sheer brute and brought any enemy down with a stroke of his broad sword. Nuada remembered when he was a child he thought Cyran invincible. It seems he was mistaken.

Aerith eyed her staff before turning her attention back to Nuada. "Excuse me Prince Nuada. I wish to return to my room now." She said bowing her head and began to leave.

Nuada nodded but stopped her before she could walk passed him with a hand on her shoulder. Aerith looked up at the Prince. "You may call me Nuada, Aerith." He said simply.

Aerith nodded with a gentle smile. "Aye...I will do that, Nuada" She said before leaving.

Nuada watched as she disappeared out of the training room. He gave the faintest of smiles after she had left.

* * *

 **AN: I am doing my best to stay true to Prince Nuada's character. I believe he would be unsure of what is happening as he begins to have feelings for Aerith. If I go slightly OOC please let me know how I can improve how he is portrayed as the story progresses. Positive criticism is always welcome and reviews are welcome as well!**

 **~Twisty**


	7. The Past Cannot Be Left In The Past (1)

**AN: WHAT?! ANOTHER CHAPTER!? THE SAME DAY?!**

 **Yes. I wanted to show my appreciation to all of you who have followed and favorited my story with another chapter.**

 **WARNING: There is quite a bit of violence in this chapter. If you cannot stomach it, do not read ahead.**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Aerith awoke the next day feeling a little more refreshed than the day before. She had a better nights sleep though her mind was still a slight jumbled mess, the training session with Nuada was much needed. She felt a little more focused than she had before.

After dressing she made her way to the eating hall to grab some food. A few agents here and there were in the cafeteria. A few looked up from their plates of food and began to whisper to each other.

Aerith did not pay attention to what they were saying as she got her food and made her way out of the room. Instead of heading back to her room she made her way to the library.

Perhaps she could get lost in one of the human fables of old. She enjoyed that the most.

Upon entering the library, Aerith was stopped in her tracks by the staring faces of her coworkers. Liz, Red, Krauss, Abraham, and the princess sat in chairs, while the prince stood off to the right side of the room leaning against a pillar. He did not seem to happy Aerith noted.

There was a chair in front of the group that Aerith assumed was for herself.

"Dear Aerith...We wish to speak to you more about what happened the day before….at the museum." Princess Nuala spoke first. She gestured toward the empty chair.

Aerith nodded slowly and made her way to the seat. Sitting down she put her plate next to her on the floor.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada had been approached by his sister the day before after his training session with Aerith. She explained that Manning was concerned by Aerith's revelation. He truthfully thought she was involved with the murders.

Nuada scoffed at the notion that the halfling was involved with such a crime. She used a staff, hardly an instrument to inflict stab wounds on any manner of creature.

Nuala told him how no one knew about her past here. That she was a mystery to the BPRD. She was found on a particularly nasty mission with a troll having chased her down. Though she was covered then and assumed to have been a man. The BPRD accepted her immediately after asking if she would help with controlling the other realm from spilling into the human world. She had agreed but as far as what her name was or her background, no one had known before the Prince and Princess.

Nuala asked Nuada to be in the library in the morning to await Aerith in the library. Nuala explained that the library was one of Aerith's favorite places as the agents had observed her going there often.

Nuada agreed. He was curious about the girl as well, though he was still angry that there were such rumors going about the bureau as if Aerith were some sort of criminal. He was unsure of why he was so angry at the notion. Perhaps it had to do with his dislike of humans? He was unsure.

He sat away from the group. He did not enjoy being near the big red demon though he was sure that was still his pride being bruised by the brute.

He watched as Aerith entered. He relaxed a little at seeing her but was still angry at the group for the assumptions about her character. He awaited in silence as she began to speak.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

"What is it you wish to know?" Aerith asked slightly guarded. She felt as though she were being blindsided.

Abraham spoke next "We would usually not like to pry in a person's past but…this is rather important. You said in the van how the cuts on the museum guards faces resembled the scar on your face. We need to know if there is someone from your past that may be trying to get your attention somehow?"

Aerith shook her head "Impossible."

"Why do you believe so? It is very important as we want to help you. If there is anyone that may be after you, we would like to…"

"They are long dead." Aerith said having interrupted Abraham. She looked down at the floor.

"Mein Fraulein, how can you be sure?" Krauss was the next to ask.

Aerith sat quietly. Her eyes not leaving the floor.

Liz spoke next "Aerith…. Please we want to…."

Aerith interrupted yet again. "I killed them all." She whispered. She looked up to the group. "They are dead. If not for me they would be long dead as this happened hundreds of years ago. Years after the great war."

Each member of the group watched her intensely. Before anyone could speak Aerith spoke up again.

"Let me start from the beginning…"

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

 _Cyran watched his life mate as she worked about in the garden. She pulled fresh vegetables and herbs off their vines and out of the ground to cut up for the stew she would begin to cook. She was so beautiful. Her raven hair reach down passed her waist, her bright blue eyes inspected each vegetable as she made to pluck them off each vine. He always said she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen._

 _After the war, there was still tension between each race. Cyran had felt it himself. He did not like humans. They were selfish individuals but after meeting Isabella that all changed. The human woman was kind and thoughtful. She was a healer for the village he had stopped in one day. It did not take long for him to ask to court her. Cyran was elated when she agreed._

 _Now they had two beautiful children. Aerith, his daughter and Cyrus, his son. Both he loved very much._

 _They were not far from a human village. Any time Isabella would go there she would come back slightly shaken up. Most of the humans did not enjoy her coming there with their children. She was seen as a traitor to the human race as the war was still fresh in most human's minds. Prejudices were quite prominent in the mind of men and elf kind that would not easily be forgotten._

 _Isabella made her way back to the cabin. She smiled up at her life mate. "Have you been watching me as I pick from the garden this whole time, my love?"_

 _Cyran gave a small smile. "Aye. Just staring at the most beautiful creature these old eyes have ever seen." He said pulling her into his arms. Isabella blushed. The two lover's mouths met in an intimate kiss._

 _"Poppa! You stop that! You promised to train me!" Aerith came running out from the cabin. She made it passed her parents with her staff in her hand. The staff was much bigger than her but her father promised she would grow into it. She was in pants and a tunic. Her twelve-year-old self watched as her father released her mother._

 _Her mother smiled "Aerith, I would like it if you helped me with cooking first before you train with your father."_

 _Aerith huffed "But training is far more important!"_

 _Her mother let out a sigh "How are you to get a husband if you are only able to fight? You will scare him away!" Her mother said._

 _Aerith snorted "A husband? You mean a life mate like you and Poppa? Why would I want one of those?"_

 _Cyran laughed "One day you will my little warrior. Go help your mother. We will train afterwards." He said with a big smile on his face._

 _Aerith grumbled and nodded. She carried her staff inside and placed it next to the door. Isabella and her began to chop the vegetables. Her brother came in and hopped up on his father's lap, after he sat at the table, as he played with a little elfin toy his father had made him when he was born. The six-year-old made soft little noises as he played with his toy._

 _Cyran could not remember the time he had been happier._

 _That night the family went to lay in their beds, unaware that this was the last time they would._

 _The villagers had been plotting for some time to get rid of the elf and his unnatural hoard. The hate they felt for the family ran far deeper than Cyran or Isabella could have imagined. The villager leader had sent for a group of mercenaries with the promise of great reward._

 _Twenty of them had come that night knowing of who they would be up against. Their leader's name was William. The man made sure to bring the worst of the worst to the family's cabin. They were hired to get rid of the small family by any means necessary, and William certainly was good at using any means necessary. Five of the men entered the house as the rest waited outside._

 _Cyran heard them come in. He whispered to Isabella to get down under the bed. He silently got up and grabbed his broad sword from next to their bed and hid behind the door. As soon as the first one came through the door her father ran his sword through him. The battle ensued as he took down all five men with little effort._

 _"Isabella get the children! We are leaving." He said._

 _Aerith had awoken and grabbed her staff while standing in front of her brother's bed. Her brother had awoken to the sound of fighting as well and was cowering._

 _When her mother came through the door Aerith ran to her. "What happened Momma?"_

 _"We have to leave right now Aerith!" She said running to grab Cyrus._

 _They followed her father out of the front door. There were no mercenaries out there but her father felt that this was not the end. Suddenly mercenary after mercenary began to attack her father. Aerith stood scared and clutching her mother's leg as her father fought them bravely._

 _Aerith had never seen a person dead before but her father made quick work of the few that came out. Without her or her parents noticing more snuck up behind her mother and her as the huddled close to the house with her little brother clutching their mother._

 _They grabbed Isabella who screamed loudly. Aerith tried her best to get them off her mother but the little girl was not match for the brutal attack of these men. She did however damage a few and for that she was proud of._

 _All attacks from her father stopped when he turned to see his life mate in the arms of the lead mercenary. His sword held at her throat. Aerith and his son were held at sword point as well._

 _"Drop your weapon elvish filth." William said._

 _Cyran calculated in his head what he should do. He wanted to kill all of this human scum but he did not want his family hurt. There was only one thing to do; he dropped his sword._

 _As soon as it was on the ground the humans surrounded him and beat him down to his knees until they could shackle him. They made sure they used iron shackles as they knew the shifty ways of elves. They put a leather strap around his neck._

 _Isabella cried as her life mate was hit and brought down. She knew he was doing everything to make sure his family came out of the unharmed._

 _Cyran growled as he was forced to his feet. "Let my family go. It is I you clearly want." He said in a somewhat desperate attempt to get his family to be released._

 _William chuckled "Sorry filth. Not what was in the bargain." His company began to usher the family into the surrounding wooded area._

 _Aerith and her brother were knocked unconscious before thrown into a cage together._

 _When Aerith came to, she groaned at the throbbing pain in her head. She slowly sat up but was stopped by her head hitting the top of the cage she was in. She heard screaming. Her eyes slowly opened to absolute horror._

 _Her mother was being raped by the men that had taken them. Her mother was crying and struggling to get free of the men but they kept hitting her. They used their knives to stab into her arms and body. She was being tortured._

 _Aerith panicked and called out to her mother to hopefully distract the men into releasing her but it was no use._

 _She looked around for anything. Anything at all to help her mother but found nothing. She was in a cage with her little brother, luckily he was still knocked out from before. She couldn't do anything._

 _Aerith began to cry. She looked around for her father but did not see him. She tried her best to cover her ears and look away from what was happening to her mother._

 _When they finished, the men laughed and knocked her mother out with a swift kick to the face._

 _"Filthy whore." One said. He looked over to the cage with the now crying half elf girl in it. "Oh, don't worry sweet heart. You'll be next." He said with a vicious grin._

 _Aerith's eyes widened at this and she backed away from the front of the cage whimpering._

 _They did not touch her that night. The next morning the men took her mother again but this time her mother did not scream or fight. She was far too weak from blood loss and the shock was being tortured by the men._

 _Aerith did not look at what was happening to her mother but she knew what they were doing. She held onto her little brother. The cage was lifted and they were put into a cart that was led by a horse. A few of the men jumped in. One of them kicked the cage which earned him a whimper from the girl who was clutching her brother tightly. He laughed at this._

 _Her mother was thrown in as well. She lay motionless next to the cage. Aerith reached out to her but the cage was kicked again. "None of that now or we'll be getting to you a lot sooner." The one that kicked the cage before said with a disgusting smile._

* * *

 **AN: *laughs evilly* BWAHAHA! Stay tuned for the next chapter!**

 **~Twisty**


	8. The Past Cannot Be Left In The Past (2)

**AN: WARNING! Graphic violence ahead. You have been warned.**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 _When the cart stopped, the cage was kicked off it. The men laughed hearing Aerith cry out in fear and pain. Cyrus was still unconscious through it though he did sustain some injury as they tumbled about._

 _Aerith was in tears. She held onto her little brother closely after the cage stopped falling. She watched as her mother was carried off into the camp. It seemed this was the band of men's make shift home. There were tent upon tent in the wooded area. A few men were there already greeting the group as they returned._

 _Aerith's cage was lifted and taken into the camp. The men here were terrifying. Some had scares along their faces, some were missing limbs, some were rough housing between each other, and others were massive people that Aerith was sure were giants; even larger than her own father._

 _Aerith realized she still did not see her father. Panic began to set in. Where was her father? He would never have abandoned his family. What had these people done to him?_

 _Aerith's thoughts were interrupted when the cage was placed down in the middle of the camp. She didn't look around anymore than she needed to. The place smelled like death. She clutched her brother closely. Deep down inside she knew she would die here._

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

 _That night the camp was a light with campfires and the men laughing. Aerith hadn't seen her mother all day. The men hadn't paid much attention to her and her brother who was now awake. He cried into his sister._

 _Aerith did her best to comfort him, fearing it would put the men in a foul mood if her brother kept his wailing. She needed to try to keep them alive. "Shhh Cyrus. Shhhh you have to be quiet now." Aerith whispered, however nothing helped._

 _Aerith was so focused on trying to get her brother to quiet she didn't see the looming figure over the cage. The man opened it swiftly and reached in grabbed her brother. Aerith screamed out and tried to grab at him but it was no use._

 _"Damn whiney little git!" the man said smacking Cyrus. He threw the boy down on the ground knocking the wind out of him._

 _Aerith was reaching for her brother from the cage. "Cyrus! NO!" She said watching as the man kicked her brother about like a child would to a toy ball. It silenced Cyrus though._

 _The man turned to the cage and kicked it. "Shut up you little runt!" he yelled._

 _Aerith didn't though. She was focused on her brother. Her little brother who had been kicked about and was now lying silent._

 _The man growled and opened the cage grabbing her by the hair. She fought him the best she could though. She was sure he had hurt him because he let her go roughly. She began crawling to her brother but was stopped by the man stepping on her ankle, hard. She cried out. He ground his foot into her ankle. She was sure it would break if he kept at it._

 _The men in the immediate vicinity cheered at their friend. When the man stopped, he reached down and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her back into the cage, her bloodied and bruised brother was thrown in as well. Aerith held him tightly silently begging him to wake up._

 _The man chuckled at this and knelt to look into the cage. "Little elf filth. We're going to have much fun with you."_

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

 _Ten days. Ten days of constant torture. Aerith had been tied up, stabbed, fought, had various bodily fluids thrown at her, and even at one point been hunted. She now was lying on the floor of the extremely dirty cage. She couldn't open her right eye anymore. The leader William had a particularly sadistic streak in him and decided to take a knife to her face._

 _Her brother had been taken from her a few days ago. He too withstood the torture of these men but was fading fast when they took him. Aerith knew he was dead now. The girl clutched her body tightly as she lay on her side. She hadn't eaten in days and was too weak to do much else than that. Her family had been taken from her. She was alone in the world. She silently prayed for her death now._

 _That was when she heard it. A loud roar echoed through the camp. All the men grabbed up their weapons, running off into the direction of the roar._

 _The girl didn't move from where she was. What was the point? Her family was gone. She was alone and broken, whatever horror was coming her way she would gladly accept it._

 _There were bloodcurdling screams from the men. Quite a few ran passed the cage the tiny halfling was trapped in. They were bloody and scared._

 _Aerith felt the ground shake as something massive was approaching. Aerith shut her eye; whatever was to happen she would accept it. She would welcome it, as long as she did not have to go with these men again._

 _Her cage was lifted into the air with force moving the halfling about inside. She tried to keep her eye closed but the smell of the thing that lifted her cage was getting to her. Aerith opened her eye only to stare at a massive blueish gray troll. It had what looked to be spikes straight down its head. There were two massive spikes on its shoulders and a few smaller ones that encircled them. Its mouth had two tusks coming out of the bottom of its jaw and two smaller ones coming from the top. Its black eyes scanned her in the cage as if to intimidate her._

 _The creature gave out a loud roar which made the girl wince at the pain in her ear drums but she didn't move. She just looked in its black eyes hoping whatever it would do would be quick._

 _It looked at her curiously before sniffing at her. It turned its head over its shoulder and said something to someone in a language Aerith could not understand. The troll started walking with the cage in its hand muttering under its breath._

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

 _After hours of walking, the troll finally came upon a cave. His home. The other trolls went off to their own caves. The humans had encroached on their territory which caused the massive attack and onslaught of trolls to the camp._

 _He looked inside at the now sleeping girl. It was hard to tell exactly what this girl was to the naked eye. Her clothes were torn and dirty. Her face and various parts of her body were caked in blood and mud._

 _However, after sniffing the girl he knew she was no human. No, she had elf blood in her that he was sure of. This troll had great respect for the elves._

 _As gently as he could, he placed the cage down. The troll grabbed onto the door of the cage and pulled. Metal gave way to the strength of the troll which woke the girl up._

 _Aerith's heart was pounding in her ears. While she accepted her fate, the thought of possibly being tortured or slowly eaten alive still terrified her. This creature, she surmised, would not be as 'kind' to her as the human men._

 _A huge 4 fingered hand reached out to her and very gently, at least Aerith thought it was gentle, picked her up and pulled her out of the cage. Aerith knew this was it. This was the end. She would see her family soon._

 _The troll carefully placed her in the palm of his massive hand and examined her. The elf human's breathing was shallow, her eye was shut tight while the other one was swollen shut. It had caked blood on it and from what the troll could tell, someone had cut the right side of her face. He sat down now, still examining her._

 _After what seemed like a heart stopping minute to Aerith, she opened her eye. What was this creature doing? She looked closely at its face: Was it examining her? She watched curious yet hesitantly as the gargantuan eyed her form._

 _The troll snorted seeing her staring at him with curiousness and trepidation. He placed her down on a file of animal furs. Aerith watched him walked to a side of the cave she was in and grab up a large bowl and a cloth. He came back to her with these items._

 _She tensed. So, this creature was going to eat her? Did he mean to boil her alive then wipe away any remnants from his face of her blood and viscera?_

 _The troll sat back by the broken and weak halfling. He dipped the cloth in the water and, with much difficulty, very gently started to wipe the girl's bloodied face. Aerith flinched at first, thinking he would make to harm her but no such thing came. He was caring for her? Aerith was thoroughly confused. Surely this behemoth was postponing the inevitable? Surely this was a figment of Aerith's imagination and wishful thinking? Surely her mind had succumbed to fatigued._

 _Aerith watched as the troll dipped the cloth again in the water and brought it again to her face. There was a throbbing pain there but she ignored it and took to staring at the creature in awe. She watched as after it seemed satisfied with having wiped away the caked-on blood and dirt from her damaged eye, it began to use the cloth to wipe away her other wounds._

 _At a particularly sensitive and infected cut on her ribs was being washed, Aerith hissed in pain. The troll grunted softly and took much more careful ministrations to that area. After a good while of cleaning the elf human before him, the troll took the water and brought it to the front of the cave. What was once clear and life bringing was now blackened by the mud and blood from the tiny creature in his cave._

 _Aerith was confused by the turn of events. Her head was spinning. What was this creature doing? Her exhaustion, she noticed, was starting to catch up to her. The furs she lay one were far too comfortable not to drift asleep and that is what she did. For the first time in ten days, the little girl feel into a deep sleep._

 _The troll returned. He placed the bowl down and looked in the direction of the girl. Her breathing was slow and even. She was asleep. The troll went to the other part of his cave. He retrieved a salve that he was sure would work on the girl. As she slept he bandaged her body as delicately as possible. A few times the troll froze as she whimpered, hoping she would not awaken. She didn't though. When he was finished, he sat watching her closely. The little elf human intrigued him. Trolls were not known for their connections to other things other than themselves, however this one was intrigued by the halfling._

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

 _Aerith's mind slowly cleared of her dreamless sleep. The dull soreness of her wounds overtook her mind briefly before she slowly opened her eyes. She was staring at a cave ceiling. The events of the previous day played through her head. She thought she imagined all of that, the men screaming and running away from the trolls, the troll picking up the cage she was in, and the troll taking her back to the cave and cleaning her ever so gently as if she were made of glass. Though, she supposed, to the big creature she probably was akin to it._

 _She heard a loud snore coming from her left side. She turned her head just enough to see the behemoth, legs crossed, arms crossed against its chest and it was sleeping? She was confused. Wasn't it supposed to eat her? Her father had told him stories about these beasts. Wasn't it supposed to be cooking her over an open fire now? It shouldn't be sleeping, should it?_

 _She tried to sit up but was met with a considerable amount of pain. Aerith lay back down. She looked at her body and noticed it bandaged up. So, it hadn't been a dream. It really had taken care of her._

 _When the giant troll finally awoke, he saw the tiny girl looking at him. He stretched out and gave a big yawn. He didn't know the common language too well to speak it but he understood it enough._

 _"Eat?" He asked motioning to his mouth._

 _Aerith watched him curiously. He was asking if she was hungry, at least she hoped so. She nodded slowly._

 _With a grunt the troll got up. He went out of the cave going to hunt for some food for his guest._

 _This gave Aerith time to look at the surroundings. It was a simple cave dwelling. There was a simple fire pit just outside of the cave entrance. On the left side of the entrance there stood great giant stone tools. She assumed these were weapons. She also saw some old pieces of wood and what seemed to be furniture. What she was on she guessed was the creatures bed. There were a few odd antiques here and there spread throughout the cave but nothing else. There was a pungent smell in the air that Aerith attributed to the smell of trolls. It was its home after all._

 _After what seemed like an hour or two the troll came back with some fish. He began to gut and open them for putting over the fire that he would make soon. Aerith watched him closely. She didn't worry the creature would hurt her for he had not do so yet. She didn't think the trolls would be a patient lot and would have just killed her immediately had he wanted to._

 _Aerith cleared her voice. Her throat was dry but she could croak out "Thank you."_

 _The giant troll stopped to regard her first spoken word to him. He gave a thoughtful "Hmmm" before saying "Welcome, little elf."_

* * *

 **AN: Don't worry everyone. I plan on bringing the story back out of memory in the next chapter. There are a lot of important things in this memory.**

 **Thank you to everyone!**

 **~Twisty**


	9. The Past Cannot Be Left In The Past (3)

**AN: As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **~Twisty**

 _5 years later._

 _She looked upon her companion, Groul, as she came to learn his name to be. It had been very difficult to overcome their language barrier the first few months of Groul caring for her as she healed. At one point, he roared in her face frustrated that she could not understand that he wanted her to rest while he went to hunt for food. She was adamant on helping with anything and everything. This annoyed the big troll to no end as he knew she needed to heal, not help._

 _This is when he started teaching her to communicate with him in his language and she in turn taught him how to speak in more the common tongue. The two were inseparable. The other trolls would regard Groul as strange as most did not have the same compassion that Groul expressed towards the girl. Trolls were not known for their compassion._

 _Aerith had asked Groul once why he had taken her in all those years ago, he would snort but would say "Because you are an elf. You were hurt." He said it with such conviction that Aerith smiled then and placed a comforting hand in Groul's._

 _The two regarded each other as having a deep understanding of one another. Aerith thought it akin to a brother and a sister relationship as did Groul._

 _It was on this particular day that Aerith told Groul her plans to return to her once home._

 _"You will find only sadness, little elf" Groul said._

 _Aerith watched her friend closely. She gave him a soft smile "I have been sad every day since you've taken me in, my friend." She said. "I want to retrieve some items very near to me from there…. I want to see if it still stands."_

 _Groul gave a soft growl at this. Not an intimidating one but one, Aerith knew, was affectionate for the large troll. "We go then."_

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

 _It had taken a few days to get to the place she grew up. The girl took hesitant steps down the path to her childhood home. Greif was consuming her as she recognized the way. She stopped in the middle of the path taking deep breathes of air to calm her nerves._

 _Groul placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder "We can go little one. We needn't go further."_

 _Aerith shook her head. "No. I need to do this." She said softly before continuing forward._

 _Aerith's breathe hitched in her throat. The small cabin she once knew to be home was in a state of decay. The foliage around it that was so carefully tended by her mother over ran most of the abandoned cabin. Some parts of the roof were caved in as well. Aerith slowly made her way up to it. Up on entering the place, she was hit with old memories. Happy ones. She walked from room to room in great sadness remembering her home as it once was. She riffled through the foliage and decay looking for small items to take with her knowing that she couldn't carry much._

 _There were a few books she was able to put into a bag, a few small weapons, and one of her father's swords. She continued to riffle through the destruction stopping to admire a few items of her brother's and mother's that she could not take along with her. It was then she found her staff. The one her father had given to her. She couldn't believe it was still whole! She took it and swung it around a bit. She was much taller now and it fit her much better. Just like her father had promised._

 _Aerith walked out of the cabin and went back to Groul. "Come on. Let's….." she stopped looking at something just passed the giant troll. Through the over growth, she saw something. Something that looked like a statue off to the back of the garden. Aerith knew her memory wasn't bad. She knew her family had no statues around their home. Aerith cautiously made her way to the back, Groul in tow. The thing seemed to be kneeling with its arms up like it was tied against the tree. The rope was quite decayed now but still lashed around the tree branch and the thing. Aerith's brows furrowed at the statue. It was so strange. It was like a cream color, it had a few plants growing around it but she was sure…._

 _Aerith froze. Her eyes wide in realization as she looked at the statues features fully. The elf girl dropped to her knees, the tears that she had been holding back freely running down her face. This was no regular statue. This was her father. Those men had tied him up and killed him. They killed him. Doubled over, her hands gripped the earth as she sobbed. She sobbed for her father, her mother, and brother. The unrelenting sadness over took her. She did not stop the tears; she would not stop them._

 _As she cried a new feeling began to enter her heart. A deep dark determination entered it. She looked up to her father again then slowly stood._

 _"I want to find them Groul." Aerith said in a whisper. She knew the behemoth was listening though. "I want to find the men that did this, and kill them."_

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

 _It took months of tracking, months of finding those disgusting men that did this to her family for Aerith and Groul. They did find them though. Aerith took to covering her face during this time. She didn't want these men to know she was coming._

 _Each one she came across she killed, painfully slow or Groul crushed them. Either way made a sickening happiness inside Aerith's heart that she was sure wasn't supposed to be there but she never stopped. No. She made each man pay._

 _Groul and her never left a trace either. Just a giant bloody mess for someone to clean up or discover._

 _It was on this day that Aerith made her way to her final destination. The leader of the men, William. He was at a brothel in a rather large town. Aerith had asked her friend to wait for her outside the town so alarm would not be set upon the people. She didn't want to be disturbed after all._

 _She snuck into the brothel, largely unnoticed. The peaked into a few rooms seeing older men indulge in their baser instincts with woman. The third from last room is where she found him. He had just finished with a woman and was getting dressed. Aerith snuck into the room and waited for him to turn to her._

 _William turned and jumped a little in surprise "Oh! Didn't see you there. Strange one, aren't you? To be covered from head to two like that." He said grabbing up his boots. "I did pay the whore if you're wondering."_

 _"I wasn't wondering that at all William."_

 _"Eh? Oh? Then why're you here? Looking to get a piece of me too?" He asked smugly._

 _Aerith lifted off the way slowly making her way to the man. "No… Though I believe you have taken a piece of me. In fact, several pieces." She said with her steps slow and deliberate._

 _William's brow furrowed. He took slow steps back. "Wh…What are you looking for? I'll give you any money you want."_

 _"I don't want your money." It was then Aerith rushed the man. Her hand reaching for her side where she took out a dagger and plunged it into the man's neck where his vocal box would be. He was shocked and pushed the girl off him. He held onto the wound tightly. Choked, gurgled sounds came out of his mouth no words came._

 _Aerith slowly got up from where he pushed her off. "I want your life William." She said taking off her head cloth. "Because you took mine from me." The man stood horror struck at the realization on who the girl was._

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

 _Three hours later._

 _Aerith had come back to her friend awaiting in the trees around the town. Her whole body covered in blood. She stood in front of her friend staring off into the distance, not looking at him. She thought she would feel better. She thought this was the end to her sorrow and heart break. She thought by wiping the disgusting, wretched scum off the face of the earth she would feel better. She didn't though._

 _She felt empty, hollow._

 _"Are you better now?" Asked Groul._

 _"No….. " Was all Aerith could reply. The horror and depravity of what she had just done sunk in. The little halfling girl cried. She cried till she could not cry anymore._

 _Groul gently lifted her up. He took her back to their cave._

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Aerith sat in front of the group having finished her tale. She was looking down at the ground, unable to look up from at her co BPRD agents.

"This happened over a thousand years ago," Aerith sadly softly. "Even if I kept them alive they would be far gone by now."

The room was silent as each member contemplated what was said. "I…Is that why you use the staff you have now?" Asked Liz "So you don't kill anyone again?"

Aerith nodded "Yes."

"And…you are remorseful of what happened?" asked Abraham to clarify.

"Yes. Very much so. I didn't find peace in what I had done. I found emptiness, sadness."

"My dear Aerith, you have been through so much." Nuala said softly. She gave the halfling a gentle smile.

Aerith looked up at the princess. "Yes, but I would not change anything I have been through. It has made me stronger, has made me grow to become as I am today."

"But that still doesn't answer who could be doing this." Abraham interjected.

"I fear we will need to let time decide that Abraham. There is no one left alive that could possibly do those things to those men that I can think of." Aerith said.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada has sat through all Aerith's tale. He had to control his anger though Nuala felt it. She kept looking at Nuada every few minutes to see her brother clenching his fist or jaw. The nerve of these humans! Torturing a family! AN ELF AT THAT!

His pure seething rage for the humans came back all in one large wave. How dare they lay a hand on her!

At the end of her tale and hearing she regretted her actions, Nuada sat dumbfounded. How could she regret them? How could she feel anything towards the humans?

"After all you have been through, Aerith. After all the humans, have done to you, you would still protect them? Help them?" Nuada asked from where he sat looking at the girl.

Aerith looked over at the prince. She noted he seemed visibly upset by her past. That the sheer mention of the humans doing anything wrong was upsetting him. She straightened.

"Yes. I would lay my life down for them."


	10. Hand to Hand

**AN: As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **~Twisty**

* * *

Nuada watched as the elf human excused herself from the library. She seemed to be in a rush to get out of there, more than likely not wanting to continue with the conversation at hand. If Nuada were honest with himself, he was infuriated that such things happened to Aerith. He was practically beside himself in anger. These stupid, hollow creatures should have been wiped out a long time ago!

The other members in the room began to exit themselves. No one seemed willing to want to talk about Aerith's tale just yet. They were filled with sadness that she had to endure such things, though were unwilling to go to the girl herself to continue with the conversation. She seemed to not want anyone's pity. Nuada secretly admired that.

Nuala stayed behind watching her brother deep in thought. She knew what he was feeling. "Brother, do not let hate seep into your heart for the humans again. They are not all bad creatures."

Nuada looked at his sister "She was tortured Nuala. For ten days, she suffered at the hands of humans. Does that not deserve smite?"

Nuala gave a gentle sigh "Hate begets hate brother. There would be no end to any suffering if you were to go down that path again."

Nuada let out a soft sigh. "I do not know why she would continue to help them."

"Perhaps she had learned to forgive them. Perhaps she has seen the softer side of humanity and does not harbinger any ill will to them because of it. Her mother was human after all."

Nuada sat in thought again. The girl did not seem to hate the humans. She seemed to genuinely want to help them. "She is quite strange, isn't she?" asked Nuada.

Nuala's face brightened with a smile. She knew what her brother was feeling even if he did not know himself.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Aerith had reached her room. The memories still fresh in her mind at the retelling of her story. She sat on her bed. Her hands in her lap as she looked down at them. She turned her hands over and looked at her palms remembering the day she had ended William's life. She had done everything to that man. She made him suffer to his last breath. She left him there when she was done like a piece of trash. To this day, over a thousand years later, it still haunted her. Her rage haunted her and now her past was catching up to her.

Who would be trying to get her attention now?

Aerith let out a sigh. It would do no good by dwelling on it. They would show themselves.

Her head shot up hearing a soft knock at her door. She slowly made her way to it. She stood in surprise seeing Prince Nuada standing in front of her. "How may I be of service to you Prince Nuada?"

"Will you join me in the training room dear Aerith?" He asked.

Aerith was more than a little surprised by the request but it was simple enough. She would be rude to deny it.

Aerith gave a smile and nodded.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada had left the library lost in much thought. His mind was on the halfling. The little creature perplexed him so. He found himself slowly admiring her more and more. Nuada was no stranger to affectionate feelings for another, as he felt love for his dear sister, but this was different. He found his mind wanting to erase the halfling's horrible past.

Somehow while he was deep in thought he found himself right outside her room door. He had followed her one day to see where she resided. Her room was quite far from his own which he found bothered him for a reason Nuada could not place. This is how he knew this was her door.

He lifted his hand to knock but stopped before actually knocking. What was he going to say? He felt he shouldn't bring up her tale as that could be saved for another time. His shoulders straightened finally and with confidence in his stance he knocked.

When Aerith opened the door, he noted the surprise in her eyes. Truthfully, he was surprised himself.

"How may I be of service to you Prince Nuada?" her soft voice rang in his ears.

"Will you join me in the training room dear Aerith?" the words tumbled out of his mouth even though his outer appearance seemed confident.

When she agreed, Nuada felt happy. Genuinely so. It truly was his own happiness and not that of his sister's, who he felt quite often as she had found her life mate.

Perhaps….

Before the thought could form the halfling had already gotten her staff and came out of her room. Nuada nodded to her, the two beginning to make their way down the hall.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

The silence between the two was anything but uncomfortable. Aerith found great solace in the silence. She glanced at him curiously though "Prince Nuada? Will you be using your spear?" she asked not having seen it on him.

Nuada shook his head. "No. I would like to do hand to hand combat this time. Are you comfortable with this Aerith?"

Aerith nodded. She would be in hand to hand combat with the prince? Something about this fact made her nervous. She knew how to fight hand to hand. Her troll friend saw to that when she lived in the wilds with him, but Prince Nuada was different. He was a warrior. He trained in all manner of battle and knew far better than her how to effectively take down an opponent in combat.

When they reached the training room, Aerith leaned her staff in a corner of the room. She watched Nuada as he took his place on the other side of the room getting in a stance. She got in her own. This was going to be interesting.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Sweat dripped from both opponent's brow. They had not gone easy on each other. Their arms ached and their bodies were spent but neither gave up. Aerith swept her leg down only to have to prince jump over her. He made to punch her, however she blocked it. The two kept a spectacular display of flips and blocks going as they tried to best each other.

Nuada was quite impressed by the girl but he could tell she was getting far more tired than he was. She made to strike him but he turned out of the strike. Nuada pushed his body forward, backing Aerith into the nearest wall. His forearm of his right arm pressed against her neck while his left hand had quickly grabbed the wrist of her right hand, pinning it to the wall.

The two were breathing heavily as they stood there staring into each other's eyes. Nuada heard a small laugh escape Aerith's lips as she continued to breath heavily.

"It seems you have the upper hand again my prince." She said softly.

Nuada smiled softly and backed away from the halfling. "You did remarkably well Aerith."

Aerith's smile stayed on her face. "You will have to continue to teach me combat Prince Nuada." She said going to her staff that was still leaned on the wall. "Perhaps we can continue this tomorrow?" She asked. She gave a brighter smile when she received a nod from the prince. She turned and left the room.

Her body ached as she walked down the hall. She definitely would be sleeping well tonight.

Nuada watched as the halfling left. His mind lingered on her. He had been close to her, felt her soft skin on his own. The warmth radiating off of her had him stunned into silence. What was this sensation in his stomach? It was if many fluttering butterflies were floating around in there. He had never felt this before in his life and it certainly perplexed him.

He breathed in deeply to calm himself. Her scent; it still lingered in the air. She smelled of lavender and sweet berries to him.

The prince shook his head to clear his thoughts as he started to walk to his own room. These feelings that were growing for the girl were confusing to him.

Upon reaching his room, he went directly to the bathing room. His mind was still on the girl; how close they had been. He shifted uncomfortably as he felt a tightening in his lower region. He looked down. The most certainly hadn't happened in quite some time. Nuada let a deep breath out.

It seems he would be taking a cold shower today…

* * *

 **AN: A New Chapter! Yay! I had a bit of trouble getting this one out mainly because my mind and work schedule have been a jumbled mess here lately. Hope you enjoy!**

 **~Twisty**


	11. Dreams

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has so far viewed, favorited or followed this story!**

 **And a special thank you to Amadeusan! Thank you for your kind words!**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **I also do not own the poem mentioned here. It is Sonnet 23 by William Shakespeare.**

 **Word of warning to everyone: There is a mention of smut in this chapter. Just a mention.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **~Twisty**

* * *

 _Aerith stood in the middle of a torn down house. She recognized the rubble instantly; it was her childhood home. The cabin in the forest._

 _But why was she here?_

 _The rubble was exactly like she remembered it. Each fallen plank, each rotted column; all the same. She was right in the middle of all of it. After_

 _Was she having a dream of this place? all this time, why would she be having a dream of this place?_

 _She looked down at herself and saw she was in her usual tunic and brown pants. She also wasn't her younger self. She looked about the place trying to understand why she was remembering it as broken._

 _Aerith's head shot up at hearing a creak down the hall. At first, she thought it was the old cabin creaking from rot and age but realized she couldn't really hear anything else around the cabin, which was strange as she was sure she should hear the wildlife that once surrounded her childhood home bustling about._

 _Another creak._

 _Aerith slowly made her way over the rubble and down the hall. Her steps were silent as she crept towards the creaking. She heard another creak. It was coming from her room. She slowly opened the door to see a dark figure standing in the middle of the room. It was completely covered in a cloak that hid its body and face._

" _Who are you?" She asked steeling herself against any attack the dark figure might do. She noticed she didn't have any weapons._

" _Such a shame, isn't it?" The figure spoke. Aerith stood quietly by the door. She didn't recognize the voice but there was a familiarity about the stranger. "This was such a happy home once."_

 _Aerith narrowed her eyes "How would you know this? I do not recall knowing a person such as yourself." She said defensively._

 _The figure made a sound akin to a chuckle. "All things will be revealed in due time Aerith." The figure seemed to be peering into her very soul. The figure began to slowly stalk towards Aerith._

 _Aerith made to get into a defensive stance but found she couldn't move. Why couldn't she move? Fear gripped her mind as the stranger slowly made its way to her._

 _A hand slowly reached out from the shadowed being._

Aerith jolted awake, a light sheen of sweat covering her body. Her breathing erratic as she tried to focus on where she was now. Her eyes looked around her room. She was in the bureau. It had been a dream. Nothing more. Just a dream.

She took deep breaths in order to still her breathing and mind.

The dream seemed so real, far too real. The stranger spoke as if it knew her family but she had no memory of such a person. It didn't have a voice she recognized but it seemed slightly familiar to her.

She shook her head. It was only a dream. Nothing else. She stood from the bed and went to shower.

Her mind was lost in thought as she bathed. She used oils and washes of old as she always did but none of the smells soothed her. That figure, there was no defined detail on the figure in her dream, nothing to give her a clue as to who it was. Why was it mocking her? Teasing her by being elusive?

When she was finished, she dried and dressed. She noted it was early morning. Knowing not many would be awake right now, Aerith made her way to the library.

Upon entering, she went to the poetic section of the library. She grabbed a few books with some of her favorite poems in them and began to read.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada awoke with a start. He sat up right breathing heavily at the dream he had. His mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts as he recalled every detail of his dream. His dream of her.

She had been under him. Her hair splayed about above her head, her beautiful raven and white hair. Her mouth had been slightly open and her eyes shut tightly in ecstasy. They were connected in the primal sense. The noises she emitted at each thrust, rang in his ears. It sounded like a sweet song he could never tire of. His mouth had been on her neck, the taste of her like sweet honey.

Nuada shook his head. Why did he have such a dream? This was not like him. No woman had ever infected his mind before! Much less a human! Hollow creatures! Fueled by greed and destruction! Anger and annoyance gripped him briefly before it was pushed aside, by another feeling. Something new.

But she wasn't just a human, was she? She wasn't what Nuada had hated for so long. She was something new, something different. She was exotic to him. She looked like neither race, and that awoke uncharted feelings in the prince that he was both confused about yet excited to explore further.

His mind raced. What should he do? Should he approach her and let her know his budding feelings? What would he say? That he felt something for her that he wished to explore further? Nuada scoffed at himself. That would surely have her wanting nothing to do with him.

He had to find his sister. She knew far better than him what should be done. He washed and dressed himself. It was early but he was sure he would find her in the library.

He made his way to the library. He opened the door fully expecting to find his sister but he didn't. The creature of his budding emotions sat reading a book.

His heart jumped a little.

Her face lifted to look at him with a gentle smile on her face "Good morning Prince Nuada."

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Aerith had been deep in her books. The one she was reading at the moment were a collection of sonnets. She ever enjoyed each word as it danced off the page and into her mind, freeing her of her troubled thoughts.

Her eyes lifted from the page as the door opened to the library. A gentle smile spread across her lips at seeing the elf prince enter. "Good morning Prince Nuada."

Nuada stood there quiet for a moment. Aerith saw a strange flash in his eyes but it was gone in a second, replaced by what Aerith saw as kindness. "Good morning dear Aerith. You are up quite early."

Aerith nodded. "Yes. I had…. A troubling dream. I find it comforting to come to the library to clear my head when my thoughts won't focus." She said softly. "I see you are up early as well." She teased slightly. "Will you join me?"

Nuada gave a half smile, nodding as he made his way over to her. He exuded confidence but on the inside, he waged a war with himself to keep his calm and not storm out of the library to find his twin. When he sat down he looked at the books she was reading. "Poems and sonnets?" Nuada asked curiously.

Aerith nodded "Some of my favorites. I also enjoy human fables as well. Some are quite fascinating."

Nuada nodded. He was curious as to the one she seemed lost in thought with that she was reading now. "What is the one you are reading now?"

"Sonnet 23 by William Shakespeare."

"Will you read it to me?"

Aerith was surprised by the request. She hadn't read to anyone before but found the request simple enough. He was the prince of the elves after all. Why would she deny him? She began.

" _As an unperfect actor on the stage,  
Who with his fear is put besides his part,  
Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,  
Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;  
So I, for fear of trust, forget to say  
The perfect ceremony of love's rite,  
And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,  
O'ercharg'd with burden of mine own love's might.  
O let my books be then the eloquence  
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,  
Who plead for love and look for recompense  
More than that tongue that more hath more express'd.  
O, learn to read what silent love hath writ:  
To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit."_

Aerith finished with a smile on her face. She looked up from the pages to see Nuada staring at her. She looked at him curiously as he seemed lost in thought.

It took a minute but he must have realized he was staring at her as he shook his head and smiled at her a bit nervously. "That was quite beautiful." He stood not a moment later. "Forgive me, dear Aerith. I must find my sister as there is something I wish to discuss with her." He quickly left the room, leaving Aerith far more confused than when he was staring at her.

The prince certainly was acting strange. She turned her eyes back to the book and read again.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada watched as Aerith began to recite the poem. He watched her lips move with each word, watched her eyes light up as she committed each line to memory.

He longed to reach out to her, to touch her face gently. The words tumbling from her lips wrapped around his conscience and danced in his mind. It was like he was experiencing the world in a new light, a bright warm light that only he could feel.

He barely registered that she had finished. Her eyes upon him brought him out of his daze. He had been staring at her, the confused look on her face gave him that much.

He had smiled at her; nervously he knew but that it what he could muster. "That was quite beautiful." He said before standing. "Forgive me, dear Aerith. I must find my sister as there is something I wish to discuss with her." He left without another word to the halfling. He quickly made his way down the hall to his sister's room.

He knocked on her door in a bit of urgency hoping she would answer quickly.

Nuala did just that. She had felt her brother's urgency as soon as she awoke to him knocking. She knew already something was wrong. "What is the matter my dear brother?"

Nuada walked into the room and sat down on the bed without a word. Nuala closed the door behind her. She went to her brother who looked rather lost.

"Aerith." Nuada began but stopped. What was he to say?

Nuala waited but when he would not continue she smiled. "You are starting to care for her." She said simply.

Nuada looked at his sister "Yes." That was exactly what was happening and it confused him.

"Oh my brother, it brings me great joy that you have found one that has captured your attention." She said happily.

"I believe I have but…. I don't know if she returns these feelings or if she would, dear sister. I did try to destroy the humans after all and I did stab her on our first meeting." He said to her.

Nuala smiled softly at her brother. He was lost, she could tell that much from him. His emotions were a strong mix of many things. "Perhaps ask to court her? She did grow up when the world was still rebuilding itself in the old times."

Nuada shifted uncomfortably. Court her? He did want to but he scarcely knew how to do such a thing. He had never seen a need to court anyone before. He had never had these types of feelings for anyone before either.

After a stretched-out silence of deep thought, Nuada turned his attention to his sister. His mind made up, he said. "I indeed will, dear sister."

 **AN: Ok, go easy on me with the Nuada dream sequence. Kind of the first smutty thing I've written for others. Also, it made me blush quite a bit!**

 **Thank you for the continued support as always!**

 **~Twisty**


	12. Three Trolls

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has so far viewed, favorited or followed this story!**

 **Thank you to those that have taken the time to review this story! You guys are awesome! Thank you so much!**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **~Twisty**

* * *

The next day.

Aerith arose with no recollection of a dream. There was a minimal amount of relief that flowed through her as it seemed her dreams were trying to tell her something.

Or someone was trying to contact her.

It was no coincidence that these dreams began to populate almost nightly since seeing the tortured guards from the museum. Each moment of relief brought on a worry of what the next dream would bring and how much more in depth they would go into her subconscious.

She didn't enjoy this.

She felt helpless. Whatever it was she had to exercise patience, while she had quite a bit of patience, she found herself anxious to see just what the stranger wanted with her.

She got up from her bed, washed, and dressed for the day.

Before she could grab her staff to go train and focus her thoughts, the alarm went off.

Another mission for the day.

She quickly grabbed her head cloth and staff. As she opened her door, she was surprised to find Nuada just on the other side. His arm up as if he was going to knock on her door.

"It seems I have had the worst timing." Nuada said amused, though Aerith could tell there was slight annoyance there.

Aerith smiled at him as she began to put her cloth over her head and face. "Is everything alright Prince Nuada?" She asked preparing to make her way down the hall.

"Yes… I would like to discuss something with you after our mission." He said shifting slightly.

While Aerith certainly was curious as to what he could possibly need to discuss, now was not the time. The mission was far more important right now. She nodded and the two made their way down to the meeting area where the vans were being prepared.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

This mission was largely uninteresting to Nuada. He found himself willing it to end quickly so he could approach the halfling. He found himself watching her more closely as they went about rounding up a few trolls that had ventured too far into the human world.

The humans feared them greatly, though they feared all that they didn't understand.

They currently had all three trolls in their custody. The BPRD were planning to transport them back to the facility in order to hopefully extract more information from them on why they were caught in a human city.

Nuada's relief on the prospect of going back to the agency and finally being able to speak with Aerith was short lived after hearing she would need to lead the interrogations as she knew the troll language.

Aerith too didn't seem keen on the idea.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

When they returned to the agency, the trolls were escorted into different holding cells, each one understandably angry. Their growls and roars could be heard through most of the agency.

Aerith was rather unhappy with this treatment of the trolls. These particular kind, while they looked intimidating with their red spikes, dark gray skin, and bright yellow eyes, were practically small puppy dogs. They would never hurt anyone. Their kind was more adapted to dark places and keeping to themselves, however Manning and the other agents were treating them like animals.

This bothered Aerith to no end, having grown up around a troll and the troll kind, she knew most of them were harmless. She did, however, understand the precaution; no matter how ridiculous and infuriating it was to her.

The human's natural instinct to fear the unknown was both a blessing and a curse sometimes.

Aerith made her way to the first cell. The creature inside hit at the cell bars as hard as it could, his mouth emitting a loud growl. His face was twisted in frustration.

" **My friend, please remain calm. I will do my best to get you out of here**." She said in the troll's guttural language.

The creature stopped immediately but its frustration didn't change. **"Why have they taken us?"** There was a small amount of surprise in his voice at hearing her speak to him in his native tongue.

" **You ventured too far into a human city. They will want to know why you were there."**

The troll stood silent. The other two came to their bars. Their hands gripped them as they looked over to their fellow troll and the halfling.

" **We…. We did not go to the humans for trouble. We…"** The one before her stood silent.

Aerith waited patiently. She observed the three with her good eye, all seemed uneasy. They seemed rather reluctant to say anything else to her so she changed her tactic. **"Your kind usually dwells in the underground caverns up north, yes?"** Aerith asked.

The one before her looked at her more curiously. **"You know of our kind?"**

Aerith's eye showed her amusement as her face was still covered. **"Isn't it obvious?"**

The troll gave an amused growl. **"We do stay in the underground caverns in the northern mountains. They are still mostly untouched by the humans."** He said.

Aerith nodded listening. **"Are these two part of your family?"** She asked indicating the other two in their cells.

The large troll nodded **"They are my sons."**

Aerith sat down on the ground before the trolls. **"What are your names?"**

" **I am Ferowl. My sons are Frowel and Frowl."** He said indicating the two with their names.

Aerith nodded to them in acknowledgement. **"I am Aerith. I work with these humans to protect our kind and the humans."**

The troll sat down himself. **"The humans are afraid of us."**

" **Yes."** She said simply. Ferowl gave an annoyed growl but remained silent. After a few moments of silence Aerith spoke again. **"I must know why you were so close to the human city. It will help get you out of here as soon as possible."**

" **There… There is something happening. There is talk of an uprising."** Ferowl said uneasily. **"There is one who lurks in the shadows. He is said be a powerful user of magic. There are trolls that have gone missing."** Ferowl shifted uneasy. **"My sons and I were looking for a safe passage to get through the human city. We are heading south to avoid conflict."**

Aerith listened carefully, her mind racing at the troll's words. **"I see…. I will inform the humans. I will get them to release you as soon as possible. Please be patient my friend."**

Ferowl gave a soft growl **"Thank you my friend."**

Aerith gave a bow after standing up and left to find Manning. The BPRD leader wasn't far from the cells the trolls were in. Aerith explained everything to the man.

"I see. Well we'll have to keep them here for now until we can safely get them back to the north." Manning said.

"How long will that take? Their kind live in caverns and generally stay out of the way of humans. They need darkness and to not be confined." Aerith said.

Manning stood a little taller "We aren't going to release them in the compound. I have an agency to look after and I'm not going to have dangerous creatures roaming around here."

Aerith's hands tightened. If her face was not covered, the clear distaste on it would have made the human male rethink his decision.

Manning seemed to get a sense of this. "We… We could dim the lights in there and make them as comfortable as possible." He shifted nervously.

Aerith relaxed slightly. "I believe that will suffice for the time being." She turned sharply and headed down to her room. She had nothing left to say to him as she was already infuriated.

When she reached her room, she slammed the door shut. She ripped off her head cloth, throwing it on her bed and took off her staff and threw that down as well. These beings should not be left here when they did nothing wrong!

Aerith found herself pacing the length of her room. While Manning's words annoyed her to no end, she could not help but think of Ferowl's words to her. There was someone in the shadows, lurking. Someone who clearly wanted her attention as well as that of the trolls. Finding out about the disappearance of trolls is what bothered her the most though. Who would want to hunt trolls? Sure, she had come across a few beings, human or not, that wanted revenge on a troll that killed their loved ones but no one that was actively making them disappear.

This troubled Aerith.

And what of this uprising? Were the trolls gathering to kill this shadowed being?

Her pacing came to a halt when she heard a soft knock on the door to her room. She answered it to find Prince Nuada on the other side.

"Forgive my intrusion dear Aerith. I had noticed you were no longer down where our current guests are and was looking for you." He said with a slight bow.

Aerith smiled slightly. "Yes…. Though I am rather unhappy with the current circumstances of our current guests." She said softly.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada suggested the two go to the library after seeing how upset the humans made Aerith. She agreed and when they made it they sat at the corner table and Aerith recounted in detail what the trolls said. She also recounted in detail her nightly night terrors as there seemed, to her, that there was a connection to the two.

"I see." Nuada said having listened to her. "I think it wise we speak with my sister about this, and possibly Abraham. I believe the two could help with this predicament greatly."

Aerith shook her head. "I am sorry to have involved you but I do not wish to involve anyone else yet. They could simply be night terrors but they seem far too real to me. I have not had night terrors such as this since I was very young." She said softly.

Nuada acknowledged her wishes but decided to speak with his sister later on anyway.

The two sat in silence. Both thinking on what the next steps would be if her dreams turned to be accurate.

"You wanted to speak with me?" Aerith broke the silence. Nuada looked at her confused "Before the mission started." She said with a smile.

Nuada chuckled and nodded "Yes…. Aerith there is something…" Nuada stopped. His heart was racing. He took a deep breath. "There is something I wish to ask."

Aerith nodded "Anything Prince Nuada."

Nuada sat there looking at the halfling. His mind was asking the question but he couldn't seem to find his voice to express it. He sat for some time. Aerith was looking at him curiously which made his question even harder to form.

The silence stretched out a bit longer making it uncomfortable for Aerith. "Is everything alright Prince Nuada?" She asked, shifting in her seat.

Nuada finally broke his trance. His throat cleared. "I wish to ask… If you would do me the honor of allowing me to court you." The words tumbled from his lips and he sat slightly mortified that they did. The look of utter shock on Aerith's face made him instantly regret asking her like this. He should have done something more special than just ask! What an idiot he felt like! Sitting here in a library like some buffoon asking the being of his affection if she would allow him to court her like some common…

"Y…You wish to… court me?" Aerith asked taken aback.

"Yes, I do."

Aerith sat in disbelief. The prince of Elves. THE PRINCE wanted to court her! How? Why? She was confused, shocked, and extremely flattered. She felt entirely undeserving. "I…. I'm not beautiful…. I am not deserving of being courted by the prince of my people." She looked down in her lap. Aerith had never been asked to be courted before, though truthfully, she had never given anyone a chance before. She felt she was far too disfigured for someone to look passed the outer layer of her being and see her soul. She certainly didn't believe a prince would want anything to do with her. However, if she were honest with herself, she found Nuada very attractive. He is what anyone woman, elf or other in Aerith's eyes would want in a life mate. Strong, protective, and, when he wasn't hiding it, caring.

Nuada pushed his chair back slightly and brought his hand to Aerith's chin. Her soft skin felt right in his hand. Both her eyes met his. Her golden on showed surprise but she did not pull away from the contact. "Do you believe this because of your scar?" He asked gently. Aerith nodded. Nuada smiled and gently rubbed her chin before bringing his hand down to hers. He took it in both of his hands and gently rubbed the back of it with his thumbs. "You are strong, mysterious, and have lived through far greater atrocities than most, your scar is proof of this. You are a warrior and are beautiful despite what you might think. I wish to know you more, to protect you, and maybe…. If it were to happen…. Love you."

Aerith blushed. She had never blushed before, not for anyone. It felt strange to her. She was called beautiful, again something that had never happened before. Butterflies formed in her stomach and chest. She sat in complete awe that this was happening. She hoped that this was not a dream as this would be the cruelest dream she would ever awaken from.

"I ask again, will you allow me the honor of courting you?" Nuada asked with more confidence.

Aerith sat quietly for a moment. Her mind a jumbled mess. He was serious, this was real. This wasn't a cruel joke or some twisted dream. Her back straightened in her chair. She had never thought something as this was possible or given much thought to the idea of a life mate.

Yet, here he was. Sitting before her awaiting an answer with bated breath.

"Yes."

 **AN: FINALLY! I apologize everyone. Work has been an absolutely nightmare. I wish I had a better excuse but after working 13 hours a day, you kinda just want to come home and crash out.**

 **I have not lost any love for this story! I hope I can update again soon as my muse is and has been absolutely screaming at me.**

 **Thank you for the patience and sticking around!**

 **~Twisty**


	13. Beautiful Ink

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has so far viewed, favorited or followed this story!**

 **I would like to give a special thank you to darkangelynn5 for the inspiration for this chapter. Thank you for the suggestion!**

 **Also thank you to those that have continued to review this story. You all are amazing. It's really encouraging to see the positive comments flow through!**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **~Twisty**

* * *

Nuada could scarcely remember a time when he was as happy as hearing a simple word come from anyone's lips. Her answer danced in his heart and mind. Yes. She said yes. A smile spread across the prince's face. There was a smile that spread across the halflings face as well, which made Nuada want to reach out and caress her cheek but he didn't.

Aerith broke the silence between the two. "Forgive me Prince Nuada but…. I don't quite know how elven courting works. I have seen humans before but never elves…" She felt slightly silly for asking. Her parents had never really explained the many different courting rituals when she was younger so she had little idea as to what to expect or what was expected of her.

Nuada sat at a loss for a moment. He hadn't quite worked out what he was going to do as far as courting her. Sure, he had grown up learning somewhat about courting but had never put it to good practice, his exile days saw to that.

Nuada thought a moment longer before coming up with an idea. "Well…. I am the one requesting to court you. I will put in the effort to woo you as such." He said softly.

"Won't I need to do my own part in the courting?" She asked curiously.

"You will when the time is right." Nuada smiled at the elf human.

Aerith nodded and gently squeezed his hand. "Then I look forward to what may come of it." The smile on her face was bright.

Nuada nodded before standing. "Then I shall take my leave my dearest Aerith." He gave her a bow before turning and leaving the library.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada made his way down the hall in deep thought. He had been in such excitement to ask Aerith that he hadn't really made any preparations for the event. What did he really know about courting anyway? The elves had a very strict way of going about such a ritual, such as asking their love interests parents to court them and so on. That wasn't possible though, not with Aerith. And to top it all off she was part human as well! He had no idea what human rituals were like!

Nuada sighed in frustration. Who could he turn to? His sister? No. She would know the elf way of courting but he didn't think she would know much about human courting. While Aerith was part elf, she was also part human, which presented more of a unique challenge for him.

He would have to ask someone who knew humans well. Who was part of the human world but was also still a part of the Hidden Realm that could possess insight to both worlds.

Maybe that someone was able to control fire…

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Hellboy sat in his favorite chair, snuggling a few cats, and watching his favorite cartoon. Now all he needed was a cigar. He remembered he couldn't though, not with Liz pregnant.

This was going to be the longest 9 months of his life….

"You know Red, we're going to have to get a bigger room, right? We can't live in here with two babies." Liz said from the side somewhere.

Hellboy wasn't really paying attention. "Yea…" He grunted out before laughing at a particularly funny banana peel fall in the cartoon; at least it was funny for him.

"Are you even listening to me?" Liz asked annoyed. She was showing a bit more each day. She was rather happy about having twins and happy that they were with the man she loved; she just wished that man would start acting like an adult.

"Yea Yea, Bigger space… Anything you want." He said waving his hand at her before losing himself in his show again. Loud guffaws came from the big red demon as more amusing images came on the TV.

Liz rolled her eyes and shook her head. He was lucky she loved him so much.

Her head turned towards the door as a knock rang through the room. Red stopped watching his show to look at the door as well.

Liz went to it and opened it to find the elf prince on the other side. To say she was surprised was an understatement. "Oh. Hey Prince Nuada. What's up?" She asked.

Nuada shifted uneasily. "I need to speak with you Elizabeth, might we have a moment to talk?"

Liz nodded "Yea sure. Let's…"

She was interrupted by Hellboy. "I don't think so your royal assness. You ain't taking my girl anywhere." Red stepped in front of her protectively which only served to annoy the woman.

"I am not here to fight Demon…I wish to speak to Elizabeth about…. something." Nuada said trying to avoid explaining why he was here.

Red snorted. "Then she's all ears." He said crossing his arms over his chest but not moving.

Liz rolled her eyes and stepped around Red. "Don't be an ass Red. What can I help you with Prince Nuada?"

Nuada shifted again and cleared his throat "I wish to…. Court Aerith. I'm a little lost as to what I should do…. I thought perhaps you could offer some insight on the matter, being a human after all."

Liz's face softened with a smile. He was asking her dating advice. She was a little confused as to why he wasn't asking his sister but she was sure he had his reasons. Just as she was about to agree Hellboy stepped in.

"Court? What the hell is that?" He asked.

"He wants dating advice." Liz said rolling her eyes.

"Dating advice? For the short stack?" Hellboy looked at Nuada curiously. Nuada seemed a little annoyed at the name of his romantic interest but nodded none the less. Hellboy laughed "I didn't know you had it in you! She's got that scar but she sure is pretty. If I wasn't with Liz I'd probably be trying to impress her myself."

Liz snorted "Well you are with Liz and she currently thinks you're an idiot." If looks could kill though, Hellboy would have been dead three times over by Nuada's current facial expression. "I'll help you Prince Nuada." Liz said with a smile.

"Yea I'll help you too!" Hellboy said happily.

Nuada did not like the sound of that but what choice did he have? He didn't have the first clue on what he was doing.

He reluctantly nodded.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada sat in the chair in the library listening to Hellboy go on about some of the things he could do to woo Aerith properly. At one point Hellboy said to take off his shirt and flex in front of Aerith to impress her with his muscles.

Nuada felt doomed.

Liz's eyes were narrowed at Red. He was being such an idiot about this. He had his romantic moments. Surely he could think of something better than the Prince taking of his shirt to flex his muscles? "Maybe take her on a nice dinner?" She suggested to Nuada "She might like to get out of the bureau other than for work."

Nuada shook his head. "That is a better idea than what the Red Demon has been suggesting but I am forced to stay at the bureau currently."

Liz nodded. She had forgotten that he was.

Just then the door opened to the library, Abraham walked in. He was a little surprised by the group being inside. "Is everything alright?"

Hellboy had been sitting with his arms crossed in a huff since Nuada suggested his ideas were bad. "Yea, just giving the prince some ideas on how to get Aerith to date him."

"Date him? You wish to be with Aerith?" Abe asked just as surprised as Hellboy was earlier. At Nuada's nod Abe went to the group and sat down as well. "Well…. She does enjoy quite a bit of poetry and sonnets; why not make one yourself and give it to her? It's a thoughtful gift. She also enjoys works of art. She likes to read about different art galleries and likes to study the arts through time."

Nuada listened carefully. Yes, he could do that. The problem was he hadn't the first clue how to create a beautiful poem or masterful piece of art that would impress her enough to continue to court her. "I will think on these suggestions…"

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Aerith was currently in her room after the library. She was stuck on the same page of the book she had been trying to read for the past thirty minutes. She just couldn't focus on the words with the anticipation of what this whole courting ritual would entail.

She felt like a young girl…

Aerith sighed and closed the book in front of her. She sat thinking for a bit before getting up. She walked down the hall and made her way to the cells housing Ferowl and his younglings. She decided to keep her head cloth off this time.

As she walked, she couldn't help but hope to run into the prince.

Aerith mentally slapped herself. She was a warrior! Like her father before her! Not some love-sick teenager!

Though…. He was a rather strong warrior…. And handsome…. And he showed interest in her despite her past and looks.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

After having checked on the trolls, Aerith made her way back to her room. They were being well taken care of and seemed to be in better spirits now that the lights were dimmed down there. Aerith felt much better about the situation but would not truly rest easy until they were returned to their home.

She opened her door to step into her room and kicked an envelope on the floor. She looked down curiously at it. Her name was on the outside of it in a sharp calligraphy. She picked up the envelope and went to her desk. Slowly she opened it. Inside was a folded piece of thick paper.

Aerith picked up the folded piece of paper and opened it. She was stunned to see what was on that paper.

In ink and carefully drawn out, was a picture of flowers in a vase. Roses and lilies to be exact. Two of her favorite flowers though she doubted the artist knew that. Signed at the bottom of the page was Nuada's name. He took great care in each petal, each stem to create this piece of art work.

It was beautiful, and it was for her. She searched her room and found a picture frame to put the drawing in. She placed the drawing on her night stand.

Her heart welled with an emotion she didn't recognize but the warm feeling it sent through her chest was more than welcomed.

* * *

 **Another chapter!**

 **Yay!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter with some fluff and stuff! Next chapter will continue with the fluff!**

 **Thank you as always,**

 **~Twisty**


	14. Awkward Encounter

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has so far viewed, favorited or followed this story!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! You guys are awesome! I read every comment, please know that. All positive comments are appreciated and all story progression suggestions are also considered. Thank you all so much!**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **~Twisty**

* * *

Aerith had awoken the next morning with a smile. Her head turned while she was laying on her bed to look at the drawing from the prince. She was impressed by the amount of detail that went into the picture.

It was beautiful. Aerith decided she would have to find the prince and thank him for the gift.

She went to the bathroom to shower.

After her shower, she got dressed in a dark pair of pants, she grabbed wrappings for her chest, then put on her light tan tunic top. She was nearly done when she heard a knock on the door.

When she answered her heart fluttered. Prince Nuada stood before her. "Good morning Prince Nuada." She said feeling shy, which immediately made her feel stupid. She had spoken with the prince before what made now so different?

Nuada smiled and grabbed her hand. His lips when to the back of it. The flutter in Aerith's chest nearly stopped her heart as his lips connected with her skin. "Please Aerith. Just Nuada." He said softly. Aerith nodded not really being able to speak. "I was hoping you would like to join me this morning for breakfast then to spar?" He asked.

Aerith nodded shyly. "That sounds lovely.

After Aerith grabbed her staff the two made their way down the hall to the cafeteria. Neither noticed but they were being watched by their comrades. There were a few whispers but smiles between the group none-the-less.

The two made their way to the training rooms with their food, both in fairly awkward silence.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

After the two had eaten, Aerith began to stretch. She felt ready for a nice spar but was still unused to this awkwardness that was happening between her and the prince. It was a strange awkwardness, like she no longer knew what to say to the prince. She had spoken to him plenty of times before but now that the two were trying to become romantically involved it felt foreign to her.

Aerith's eyes watched the prince. He seemed calm, nowhere near the nervousness that Aerith felt. She continued to stretch as she watched him.

She watched as he took off his shirt. Her eyes were slightly glued to him as he too began to stretch. Every muscular fiber rippled under his skin, while he was lean he was still muscular.

Aerith felt her face slightly heat up as she pried her eyes away from him. What was she doing!? Acting like a child?! Aerith was growing increasingly frustrated with herself.

It was then she looked back to Nuada and noticed him stretching in a weird manner. She watched curiously, no longer thinking on her own shyness.

She watched as he seemed to flex his shoulders then flex his arms in a manner that showed off his biceps, his very impressive biceps.

Aerith was stunned in silence, was he…. Was he trying to impress her by flexing? Was this some elf ritual? He father had never told her about this. "W… What are you doing?" Aerith asked, her cheeks a nice red color which contrasted her pale skin.

Nuada stopped what he was doing. He cleared his throat before trying to say something. No words seemed to form. He stood there quiet for some time. He was looking at her.

"I need to leave." He said grabbing his shirt and spear. He left quickly leaving behind a stunned and confused Aerith.

"What just happened?" She asked herself. Aerith ran a hand through her hair before leaving herself.

She was looking forward to sparring.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada had been nervous to ask the elf human to spar with him but at seeing the face he has come to adore his nervousness seemed to wash away. Fireworks exploded in his mind when he kissed her hand. It was soft and felt wonderful to him.

They walked in somewhat awkward silence after she had agreed to go to breakfast then to spar with him. He didn't mind it. He felt strange but he was accepting his feelings. He knew he was falling for her. He had never come close to feeling like this with anyone else before but he would learn to let it consume him. He would devote himself to her, that much he knew.

When they made it to the training room, he sat eating and watching her. He watched her each chew, each breath, each blink of her eye. She was a beautiful creature. He wanted so much to impress her but being stuck here in the compound didn't offer many choices as to what he could do.

He sat there thinking about what was suggested to him as to some of the things he could do. He noticed when she stood and started stretching after their meal.

Well…. He could try something.

He felt absolutely out of place with doing this but what was the worst that could happen? He took off his shirt and noticed Aerith had faltered in her stretching. She was watching him? Perfect. This gave an ego boost to the prince. Seeing her flush only made it worse.

Nuada began to stretch. He watched out of the corner of his eye, good she was watching him. He began to slowly and as subtlety as possible began to flex his muscles. He thought it was working until he heard "W… What are you doing?" come from Aerith.

He was looking for the right words to say but all he could do was stare at her. She was embarrassed. She seemed uncomfortable and she was embarrassed for him.

Nuada felt mortified. What was he doing? He had no damn idea! That demon was wrong. He should have never taken his suggestions. Aerith was a simple woman, and elf, not some human girl that was vain.

Nuada finally spoke "I need to leave." Aerith didn't run after him which he did not blame her for. He was an idiot. He felt like troll dung.

Nuada made his way to his room and shut the door before anyone could speak with him. He growled in frustration to himself. How dare he act in such a way! He was no young elf, he had no business doing that!

His mind went to Aerith; she must have felt so embarrassed, so disturbed by his actions. He didn't know if he could face her again.

' _Forgive me Aerith.'_

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

It had been five days since Aerith had seen the prince. She had not received any further letters or drawings from Nuada in that time. Aerith was confused as to what happened that made him disappear. Aerith had spoken with her comrades and gone down to see the trolls on a few occasions. She hadn't spoken with anyone about the incident though. She wondered where Nuada was.

She sat in her room thinking about what happened five days ago. Did he not receive the reaction he had been wanting? Or was it something else? Was he hiding from her?

Was he embarrassed?

Aerith was beyond frustrated now. He hadn't made an appearance in five days or said anything to her! The least he could do was explain to her what happened the other day!

Aerith grabbed her staff and made her way down the hall out of her room. Some training would definitely help to vent her frustrations. Her mind was in turmoil when she ran into someone by accident. It was the princess.

"Forgive me Princess Nuala… My mind was elsewhere." Aerith said bowing.

Nuala smilled gently. "That's quite alright dear Aerith."

Aerith nodded before starting on her path again. She stopped a few steps away from Nuala. She would not be made a fool by Nuada and she knew Nuala would know where he was. "Princess Nuala, have you seen Prince Nuada?" She asked softly not turning to Nuala.

"Yes, he is in his room currently." She said softly, though if Aerith was turned around looking at Nuala she would have seen the look of amusement on her face.

Aerith straightened slightly "I see. His room is down the hall from the training rooms, is it?" She asked.

Nuada nodded again "Yes."

"Thank you, Princess Nuala." Aerith said softly. She made her way to where the prince's room was. Aerith felt herself grow more incensed by the minute at the growing frustration she felt. When she reached his door, she knocked with conviction.

It took him a minute to answer. "What is it?" He asked not realizing who was knocking. He immediately cleared his throat. "Forgive me Aerith, I have not had many visitors…" He said quietly.

Aerith looked at him angrily. She wanted to yell at him, to demand an explanation as to why he would act like he had been but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She was upset that was for certain but she couldn't just yell at him.

She stood quiet for some time. The prince watching her uncomfortably. "Aerith…. I…."

"Grab your spear, we're going to train." She said interrupting him. She began to walk away. She made it close to half way down the hall before turning. She saw the prince standing there stunned into silence. "Nuada, I don't really have all day. Hurry up." She said before continuing down.

Nuada snapped out of it and followed along soon after. He was walking silently beside her wondering what she was doing, Aerith was sure.

She couldn't yell at the prince, but she could vent her frustration by sparring him.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada was sweating profusely. Aerith was not going easy on him at all. He could practically feel her anger through each strike and swing. She wasn't causing him harm but she was throwing all her power into each swing. He was wearing down because of it. She must have been holding back the first time he had sparred her because this was definitely different.

Aerith made to strike downwards, Nuada blocked it throwing his own power into it. The two were locked together with their weapons. Nuada saw his opening. He kicked Aerith's leg out from under her making her fall back. Somehow though, he too lost his footing and fell right on top of her.

Both were tired by now though. Their training session had put the two through quite a bit.

Nuada lay on Aerith, panting looking down at her. "What is the meaning of this sparring Aerith?" He asked finally; the entire time the two had been silent with each other. Aerith panted under him.

She lay silent, her good eye looking at him. She was quiet for far too long "Aerith…. I'm sorry…." Nuada was about to continue when he was interrupted with Aerith's lips on his. His mind barely registered it. What was happening? Was Aerith kissing him? She was! Aerith was kissing him! It didn't take him long to follow suit. He deepened it only slightly as to not push the elf human too far.

Aerith was the one to break it. "Why have you not spoken to me for five days?"

Nuada was still slightly in a daze. He shook his head before looking deep in her eyes "I embarrassed myself, Aerith…. I had followed the advice of the demon as to how to…. Woo you. I really have no idea what I am doing." He said honestly. Nuada waited for her response.

It was then Aerith did something he had not expected; she laughed. She found humor in all of this? Nuada got off her and sat next to her a little taken aback by her laughter.

Aerith sat up after having gotten her laughter out. "Well, I'd say in a way it did work." She said with an amused smile on her face. "You had me believing it had been something I had done to make you not want to speak with me anymore." She said softly.

"Nothing you could do would ever make me want to do a stupid thing like that." He said gently grabbing her hand. "I was unsure of what to say to you really."

Aerith gently squeezed his hand "The truth is always best." She said softly. "Now come." She said getting up from her spot. "Go to your room and get cleaned up. Meet me back here in half an hour, I have somewhere I wish to take you." Aerith said smiling at him.

Nuada smiled back and nodded. He picked up his spear and began heading out. "Nuada." Aerith called. He turned and saw the elf human right in front of him. She stood on her tip toes and kissed his lips gently. "Don't be late." She said with a smile before walking the other direction to her own room.

Nuada stood stunned for a second before snapping out of it and making is way quickly down the hall to his room.

No, he most certainly would not be late.

* * *

 **OH HO!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter with some kissing! Next chapter will have some cute moments and possibly some smut.**

 **Thank you as always,**

 **~Twisty**


	15. An Ominous Warning

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has so far viewed, favorited or followed this story!**

 **Warning: There is a small amount of violence in this chapter! If you don't like to read that sort of thing then don't.**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **~Twisty**

* * *

Aerith had come back a brief time later. Nuada already stood before the training room they had earlier sparred in. He was dressed in a black and gold shirt with black pants. There was a smile on his face as Aerith approached.

"I have something to show you my dearest Nuada but first we must go and get food before I can do such a thing." She said softly.

"Anything you request my dearest Aerith." He said with a small bow.

Aerith nodded and the two made their way to the cafeteria. They both got their food. Aerith led Nuada through the halls after. This particular hall Nuada hadn't been down before. Nuada stayed close to the elf human wondering where exactly she was leading him.

Aerith kept quiet the entire time of her leading. She wanted this to be a surprise to the prince. She wasn't sure exactly how much this was going to affect him but she hoped it might break the tension a little between the two, especially since neither knew what to do.

Aerith made her way to the end of the hall way to a door with a sign that said 'stairs'. Aerith began to make her way up them with Nuada in tow. After a few flights, they reached a door. Aerith opened it to reveal the roof of the building. The sun was starting to set in the distance. Aerith went and made herself cozy on one of the built-up areas for what anyone could assume was for the room under it to have a higher ceiling.

Nuada took a deep breath of the air. It was polluted and nothing like that of the wilds he grew up in but it was fresh air. After weeks going on months of having it restricted to just missions, he was happy and grateful to finally breath it freely again. The air of the BPRD stunk of humans and demons most of the time. It was nice to smell something different.

Aerith looked back at the prince, a smile on her face as she watched him take in the fresh air. When he noticed her, she patted the spot next to her. He came to her without hesitation and sat down.

The two were quiet for a bit, watching the city go about its business before the sun fell completely.

"Nuada," Aerith began, getting his attention. She looked at him in his eyes, his beautiful golden eyes and nearly got lost. She cleared her mind after a few seconds of staring. "I have no idea what I am doing either. For over a thousand years, I haven't been with anyone. I have had no interest in becoming romantically involved with anyone, not that many looked upon me with desire." She smiled and touched the scarred half of her face. Nuada gently reached out and touched her hand on her face, the soft smile on his own encouraged her to continue. "I am honored to have you want to be with me, in any aspect really. All I ask of you is to please be yourself, while it was amusing with your display of-" Aerith cleared her throat "Masculinity, I know it wasn't you." She said softly.

Nuada sighed softly "Yes, that was rather embarrassing. For the both of us. You have my word Aerith; I will always be myself with you." He said.

Aerith nodded and turned back to watch the sun set. She began to eat her food. Nuada turned as well and ate his own food. The two were happily content with each other. The tension no longer between the two as it had been before the sparring match.

After the sun gave way to the night, the stars came out and slowly the moon appeared. The light of it lighting up the roof top.

"Aerith?" Nuada asked looking at her. Her head turned to look at him. "Why did you decide to bring me up here?"

Aerith smiled "Because I know staying here hasn't been easy for you. You are confined to the agency when I know in your heart you wish to be free and out in the world. At any moment you could leave if you truly wanted to but you have chosen to stay. I figured some fresh air might lift your spirits."

Nuada smiled, a genuine smile. "My dearest Aerith, as long as you are by my side my spirits are always lifted."

Aerith chuckled. "And here I thought you had no idea what you were doing." She teased him. Nuada laughed the same.

The two talked awhile longer, Nuada explained to Aerith what it was like in exile. He was free to train and do anything he wished to but was far away from his family. He had missed them greatly, especially his father. He explained to her how much it truly affected him to kill his father. He knew it affected his sister. "I know in her heart she has forgiven me but I do not feel as if I can forgive myself. I was a fool."

Aerith listened to his story intently. "We sometimes do things we do not mean to those closest to us. It does not mean we are bad beings, it means we are alive and make mistakes." She said softly.

Nuada nodded "I suppose so."

"Come it is getting late." Aerith said standing up.

Nuada and Aerith made their way back down the stairs to the entrance that they had originally come through. Nuada followed Aerith to her room to say goodnight to her.

Aerith turned to the prince. "Goodnight Nuada, until the morning my dearest." She bowed her head slightly.

Nuada smiled and in a moment that stopped time, he leaned forward. His lips met Aerith's in a soft yet passionate kiss. "Until the morning my love." He said after breaking it.

Aerith blushed lightly. Nuada waited until she was safely in her room before going to his own.

Aerith stood in her room smiling like she never had before.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

A few later….

Aerith and Nuada's love continued to blossom. Nuada continued to send secret letters to Aerith. Each one containing a more beautiful picture than the last. The two took to sparring on the roof of the agency during the late hours so as to not draw the attention of any human that may be near. They spent their days in the library reading books together, sharing past experiences, and training.

To say Aerith was happy was an understatement. She had not suffered any visions or nightmares much to her relief during this time. She was in bliss.

She was informed the night before on this particular day that the trolls would finally be released. The BPRD agents did their best to keep them as comfortable as possible until their release. Aerith made sure to lead the agents into doing just that. Manning had been rather helpful in making the creatures comfortable. He even went out of his way to get the trolls some food that they enjoyed, rabbits and deer.

Aerith had just gotten out of the shower. She was blissful as she began to get dressed. She wore a light tan baggy pant today. She began to work on her chest wrappings. She tied them tight around her chest.

It was then Aerith felt the building quake, a loud roar could be heard echoing through the halls. The alarms to the building began to sound. There was a large amount of commotion and yelling coming down, then there were gun shots, multiple gun shots.

Another roar let Aerith know it was the trolls that were behind the commotion and were now being attacked by the agents. Aerith didn't give it another thought. She quickly grabbed her staff and made her way out of her room without thinking to get her tunic on. She ran down the hall and made a turn, she saw Frowel, Ferowl's son in the hall throwing a number of agents back. He roared and slammed some into a wall. Aerith could hear more roars coming further down another hall. Abraham was already at the scene trying his best to bring the brute down with the agents.

Aerith jumped in, Frowel using brute strength to try to bring her down. She jumped and swung with her staff down knocking the troll down quite a bit. He was in quite a bit of pain. He shook his head to clear the stars that had surely formed at the knock in the head. Once he was clear headed again he began to attack. The humans rained bullets down on him but to no avail, his skin was far too thick.

"Stop shooting him! Bullets won't work!" She yelled to the agents. They did briefly stop. Abraham tried fighting him as well but kept getting knocked down. The two worked together, with Abraham being a distraction while Aerith worked to incapacitate the large troll. She slammed her staff in the back of his head hard enough to knock the troll out. "Secure him quickly. We don't know when he's going to awaken." She said to the agents around that weren't hurt or what she guessed was dead. As they began to work she turned to Abraham. "Where are the others?" She asked him.

"They were able to subdue Frowl but can't get ahold of Ferowl. They are down that hall." He pointed.

Aerith nodded. Before she headed out she turned to Abraham. "Make sure they get him secure tightly. I'll go with the others to Ferowl. What happened exactly?" She asked.

"The agents told them they were going to move them this morning and opened the gates to their cells. They were doing fine for a bit when they all fell to the floor clutching their heads. The agents couldn't tell what was going on but as soon as they stopped writhing in pain they began to attack the agents…. It's been a massacre."

Aerith nodded and quickly made her way down to where she heard the most commotion. She saw Hellboy and Nuada fighting off the huge black troll. Aerith stood by Liz who looked at her. "Thank god you're here. Do you know what could have happened to make him aggressive like this?" Liz asked hastily.

"I don't." She said watching the two. Both men had clearly taken a beating while the troll seemed largely unscathed though it was hard to tell with its obsidian skin. Aerith watched the troll's movements. They seemed shaky but strong. His body seemed to be trembling as he fought the two. It was as he threw Hellboy back into a wall did Aerith noticed something off about the troll. His eyes weren't red, they were void like, black.

"STOP!" Aerith yelled out as Nuada brought his spear up to attack the troll. Nuada stopped dead as did the troll who was still growling and shaking. " **Who are you?** " Aerith asked in the guttural language of the trolls.

There was silence for a bit before a deep rumbling laugh emitted from the troll. "Clever little girl. I should have known better." The voice echoed. It was not in the troll language but in that of the human's speech.

"I ask again, who are you?" Aerith asked slowly taking a step forward.

"Come now little elf. You know who I am. After all I've been sending you messages in your dreams" He growled out.

Aerith stopped in her tracks, if her heart could explode out of her chest it would have. This was surely another nightmare. This could not be happening right now.

"Ah yes, but you don't know my name do you, well my dear you will…. In due time." He said growling and stepping closer to her. "This was a message to you, to all of you…. I'm coming and I'll have my army with me!" With that the voice let out a deep evil laugh. Again, whatever was controlling the troll made to swipe at Aerith, who was frozen in her spot. She watched unable to move as the clawed hand of the troll came to strike her. It was then a loud shot was heard. The next thing Aerith knew, she was being sprayed with troll blood and Nuada was pulling her away from the scene.

Hellboy was standing tall with his large gun in his hand. He fired directly into the skull of the troll. He went to Aerith who was looking at the scene in shock. He was quiet for a minute before saying "You weren't lying when you said you had been tortured by humans…. Those are some nasty scars you got there." He said looking at her half-covered body. The chest wrappings did not cover her stomach or arms which showed a barrage of deep and artificial scars that littered her body.

Aerith didn't answer but Nuada did with a very angry and stern look.

Aerith stood there looking at her friend as watched the blood and brain matter spill from the hole in his head. She had gotten to know quite a bit about the troll and his sons. Now his sons were fatherless and possibly going to be put to death for the attack on the agency.

Whoever was doing this had Aerith shaken to the core.

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada gently guided Aerith to his room as it was the closest to where they were right now. He didn't want anyone asking her any questions just yet. Nuada had learned through the past few weeks just how close Aerith had gotten to the trolls. She had made sure everything was prepared for them to have an especially safe journey and took care to make them as comfortable as possible during their stay here. Now the father was dead, and while the two sons looked large and intimidating they were but children, teenagers as to give a comparison to humans.

Nuada opened the door and ushered her in taking her staff from her hands. Aerith was staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. She seemed far too lost in thought to be aware of her surroundings. "Aerith…." Nuada began "Go take a shower. Get cleaned up and we'll discuss what happened afterwards." He said gently guiding her to the bathroom.

He left her in there and closed the door so as to give her space. He didn't have any clothes that might fit her because of her tiny body but would be happy to give her a shirt for the time being.

Nuada awaited some time for Aerith to shower and return to him but he heard no movement from the other side of the door. He knocked. "Aerith? Are you alright?" He asked. No response. He knocked again. When there was no response again he said "Aerith, I'm going to come in." He said softly.

When he opened the door, he could see Aerith standing in front of the sink. Her hands were on the counter and her head hung down. She was shaking. "Aerith?" Nuada asked reaching out. He gently touched her arm. It was then that he knew what was happening, Aerith was crying. He gently took her in his arms. "My dearest love…. I am so sorry at the loss of your friend." He said softly. He caressed her back as she let her tears out. He would have to shower himself and change his shirt as well but tending to this matter was more important.

After a bit of time, Aerith seemed to calm herself. "I don't want to be alone right now Nuada." She whispered softly.

* * *

 **WWWWHHHHHAAAAATTTT?!**

 **Another Chapter?!**

 **Why yes, it is. No smut yet in this one but the next one…be prepared!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this one and didn't mind the small time jump. While I enjoy writing about cute stuff, I definitely wanted this story to progress on as well.**

 **~Twisty**


	16. Bliss

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has so far viewed, favorited or followed this story!**

 **Warning: Lemon ahead! Lemon Fresh Pledge! Lemony Snicket! Lemonheads Candy! Lemonade! Something else with lemon in it!**

 **As always this is pure fantasy. I do not own Hellboy or the characters within the series. I do however own my OC and any other made up characters in my story.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **~Twisty**

* * *

Nuada looked down at Aerith and deep into her eyes. She was sincere but he was unsure. After all he didn't want to make her feel like he was taking advantage of the situation. This would also be the first time the two would see each other unclothed. Not that Nuada was against that fact.

Nuada nodded. "Would you like me to shower with you?" He asked softly.

"Yes." Aerith returned.

Nuada gently kissed her forehead. He turned towards the shower and began to turn it on, his hand testing the water for the perfect temperature. When it was acceptable to him, he turned back to Aerith who was standing there watching him. His eyes scanned her body. The wrapping around her chest came to just the top of her belly button. What he could see of her pale skin was riddled with scars, beautiful scars. Scars that told a story, a story of survival.

Aerith noticed his staring. "Are you uncomfortable with this?" She asked softly.

"No…. though I don't want to push you into anything you would not like to do Aerith." He said going to her.

She gave a half smile and nodded. Without saying another word, she began to untie her wrappings. Nuada stopped her though. "Let me help." Slowly he went, each piece of skin he revealed showed another scar but also another part of her beauty. When her chest was revealed to him, Nuada found himself unable to look away. Her body was lean but strong. She looked like a masterpiece that was all his.

It was getting harder to ignore the growing lower half of his body. He put down the wrappings without looking away from Aerith. He slowly got closer to the halfling. "May I kiss you Aerith?" He asked quietly.

Aerith answered with her lips. They were soft on his own. Nuada's arms slowly snaked around her waist, pulling her close to his body. The elf's heart was racing though his outward appearance was calm and collected. Aerith wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him further into a passionate kiss.

The two lovers stayed this way for a bit, exchanging their budding love for one another. The kiss was deep and sweet, everything Aerith could hope for. Her heart was still aching for her friend though this was making her forget the pain just a little bit. She broke the kiss feeling the steam a bit more now from the shower. "I think it best if we get into the shower before the water becomes too cold." She said softly, slightly out of breath.

Nuada gave a small smile having nearly forgotten where they were exactly "As you wish my dearest Aerith." He stepped away from her and began to undress. Aerith became a little more nervous now but could not advert her eyes. With each piece of clothing that he removed from his body, her heart skipped a beat. When he was completely exposed to her, a bright blush formed on Aerith's cheeks. He was beautiful. In every aspect. Her eyes traced every line, every scar on his pale body, until she reached his lower region. Her mouth hung slightly open as she looked at his member standing at attention proudly.

Nuada couldn't help his ego swelling as Aerith inspected his body. When her eyes reached to his lower half a small smug smirk graced his lips. He cleared his throat after a minute which snapped the halfling out of her daze. The bright red tint to her cheeks made her that much more beautiful to him. "We should get into the shower, my love." He said softly.

Aerith gulped but nodded. Nuada stepped back to lean against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He smiled watching Aerith. She cleared her own throat and slowly stripped out of her baggy pants. Aerith's eyes were no longer on Nuada as she was far too nervous to see his reaction. She would be lying to herself if she didn't know why she had suddenly become so self-conscious. She didn't find herself beautiful. She had many horrible scars littering her body. Some deep, some raised. Some had been clearly where she had been burned before, others remnants of knives of some sort.

Nuada watched her actions closely. She was nervous but when she took off her pants, the prince couldn't help but stare at her entirely. She was far more gorgeous than anyone he had ever seen. "Aerith…." He said softly, holding out his hand to her. The halfling looked up to the prince. She saw nothing but adoration in his eyes where she was sure she would see some form of disgust. There was none though. Aerith took his hand, to which he led her into the shower.

Nuada stepped in after the halfling. He kept himself at a close but respectful distance. He wanted to stay true to his word and not push her into anything she didn't want. Aerith felt him though. His presence took on its own entity. He didn't have to touch her; the mere closeness of him was enough to send goosebumps down her spine. She grabbed a cloth to wash with and began to while she watched him clean himself as well. Nuada watched her as well.

"See something you like?" He asked in a teasing manner.

Aerith nearly choked at the comment. She blushed a little but decided to make a quip of her own. "I see quite a bit that I like." A sheepish smile spreading across her face.

Nuada laughed softly. "Well if we are divulging secrets now, I see quite a lot I like as well." He moved slightly closer to her.

Aerith smiled and moved close to him as well until they were inches from each other "And what does my prince like?" She whispered out.

Nuada heard the implication in her voice. He didn't need to be told anymore. Nuada wrapped his arms around her waist and began to kiss her; deeply, passionately. Aerith returned the kiss tenfold. Her body pressed against his as the two kissed under the water, time stopping for them.

The prince was the first to break the kiss. He looked deep into her eyes. "Will you join me in my bed?" He asked softly.

"Yes."

 **HBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

Nuada sat the halfling on his bed, the two having been dry already. The prince leaned down and began to kiss her once again. His hands having gone to her face where he held it, his thumbs gently rubbing her cheeks.

Aerith broke the kiss this time only to begin scooting back into the bed. Nuada followed immediately keeping eye contact with Aerith. When Aerith stopped, he leaned down and began to kiss her again. His hands began to trace down her body, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. When he reached her lower half, he stopped. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. "Are you sure Aerith?" He asked softly. His hand resting on her thigh. When Aerith nodded, Nuada smiled his lips finder hers as his fingers found her folds. The muffled moans fueled Nuada all the much more to continue.

A soft hiss came from Aerith as the prince dipped a finger inside her. It was a new sensation to her. Not an unpleasant one though, just surprising. Nuada smiled down at her now watching her expressions as he worked his finger inside and along her sensitive hidden bud.

Aerith's body was exploding in pleasure. His ministrations setting her body alight. When Nuada stopped, Aerith looked at him confused. A smirk curved on the prince's lips and without a word began to kiss her lips. His soft kissed made their way to Aerith's neck then lower to her breast's. Each kiss leaving a trail of fiery passion in its wake. He continued on until he reached her lower half.

Aerith eyes widened in shock and awe as she felt Nuada's tongue slip between her folds. Her back arched as he continued to work expertly on her. Her hands clawed at the bed as his tongue and lips found her most sensitive bundle of nerves.

It came quickly and intensely for her. A tidal wave of pleasure washing over her as the first of her climaxes came over her.

Nuada moved back up to Aerith's face and gently kissed her lips, his legs pushing her own open wider as he positioned himself above her. He watched as she slowly came down from bliss. When she was grounded again he asked "Are you ready my love?"

Aerith gave a small smile "Yes." Her arms wrapped around his neck, the two lovers once again kissing before Nuada began to push inside of her. Aerith hissed out. It was a different kind of pain. Nothing she had ever really experienced before. It didn't hurt for long though. The prince kept his thrusts slow at first. Each one going deeper inside the little halfling, stretching her along the way. When his thrusts found him fully inside, he began to pick up speed.

He hadn't done this in so long and never with anyone he actually cared for. Then, it was strictly about his pleasure, his desires being met and nothing else. Being with this halfling though changed everything. His body was on fire with pleasure as he continued.

Both being's moans rang through the room as their lovemaking picked up in intensity. Both halfling and elf clinging onto each other as their climax crashed through them. It was pure ecstasy for the both of them.

Nuada leaned down and kissed his loves lips. The two very much still out of breath. He broke the kiss and pulled out of Aerith, rolling onto his side after he did. He held her close after their love making. The prince smiled to himself, happy, truly happy for once in his life. She was beautiful and she was his.

Aerith slowly caught her breath as the two lay close to each other. It had been amazing, more than what she had imagined. She buried her face into the prince's chest not wanting this moment to slip away from her.

"I love you Aerith." A soft whisper came.

The halfling looked up at her prince "I love you too."

* * *

 **I LIVE!**

 **I know I know. It's been such a long time. I'm really sorry about that everyone. I wish I could come up with a better excuse than work being a nightmare but it truly has been just that.**

 **As far as this chapter goes, go easy on me. It's my first really dirty scene I've written. I didn't want to go into too much detail as far as what their "parts" look like because hey we all know what that looks like! Unless you don't….then you probably shouldn't be reading this….Go do your homework.**

 **Otherwise I hope you enjoyed!**

 **~Twisty**


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